Teens charged in stabbing death of California woman found in southern Utah vacation home


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SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly two weeks after a woman was found dead inside a southern Utah vacation home, two teenagers are now being charged with her murder. One of them, officials said, was the victim's own daughter. As previously reported, the woman, 47-year-old Andreea Mottram, was found dead inside the vacation home on March 23. Mottram was found with 14 stab wounds, and police said her death was suspicious. In the days following, two teenagers were identified as persons of interest in the case, but they had already traveled back to California. Authorities located them on March 27 and brought them back to Utah for questioning. Court documents later revealed the first suspect, Mihaela Gabriala Sorescu, 16, was Mottram's daughter. Abigael (Jay) Paige Flanagan, 17, was also charged in the case. According to Washington County officials and Utah Code, 16 and 17-year-olds in the state who are charged with murder must be charged as adults. Therefore, Sorescu and Flanagan will both face first-degree felony murder charges in district court. In addition, both will face second-degree felony charges of obstruction of justice auto theft.


This is a breaking news story. It may be updated.  Contributing: Shara Park, KSL TV

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Mary Culbertson, KSLMary Culbertson
Mary Culbertson is a writer and digital producer for KSL.
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