Arizona Grand Jury Indicts Suspect In Death Of Bartlesville Man

An Arizona grand jury indicted a man for first-degree murder in the death of a Bartlesville man.

The man suspected of killing Steven Brashear was initially arrested for stealing his SUV after investigators said he showed up to an Arizona police department in January in the victim’s vehicle.

Nearly a year after Steven Brashear left Bartlesville and went missing in Arizona, the man investigators considered a person of interest in the case is now facing a first degree murder charge. 

Pima County deputies arrested Daylan Thornton Wednesday. 

"It's been quite some time. I mean we're towards the middle of October,” Pima County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Marissa Hernandez said.  

Deputy Hernandez said the arrest comes after a grand jury indictment. Last December investigators said Brashear's remains, which were partially eaten by mountain lions, were found at the popular Pima Canyon Trail near Tucson, Arizona.  

An autopsy report obtained by the CBS affiliate in Tuscon said mountain lions likely did not kill him.  

Thornton was initially arrested in January for stealing Brashear's SUV and bonded out of jail three days later.  

"Now he's at the Pima County Adult Detention Center, so we hope that brings some comfort to the family,” Hernandez said.  

In a statement Brashear's daughter, Gracie, said, "I can't say much because I wouldn't want to do or say anything to jeopardize the case. I'm just thankful that Daylan was arrested and I have hope and trust in the people in charge of the case."  

The Pima County court clerk said right now records on the case are not public, but Deputy Hernandez said the grand jury agreed there is enough evidence to move the case forward for prosecution.  

"We can't get into specifics as to what actually is in those details at this time,” Hernandez said.  

Thornton also faces charges of Abandonment of a Dead Body, Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, Theft of a Credit Card, and Taking the Identity of Another. He is in jail on a $1 million bond. 

Court records from Thornton's first arrest in the case show he was last living in Bartlesville, and claims the victim gave him the SUV. Investigators have not released Brashear's cause of death.