SALT LAKE CITY >> Two bodies found in an abandoned Utah mine are those of a teenage couple who disappeared nearly three months ago, authorities confirmed today.

Riley Powell, 18, and Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, 17, were stabbed to death and dumped in the mine in late December after visiting a woman whose boyfriend had warned her not to have male visitors, Utah County sheriff’s officials said.

The bodies found Wednesday were believed to be the missing couple, but the determination from state medical examiners made the identification official.

Under arrest on suspicion of aggravated murder and other charges is Jerrod W. Baum, 41. Police say he tied up the two teenagers, stabbed them to death and dumped their bodies in the abandoned mine shaft after they visited his girlfriend in late December. His attorney has not returned calls seeking comment.

His girlfriend told police that Baum told her he’d made Powell suffer after the teenage couple visited their shared home to smoke marijuana with her, but kept Otteson’s death quick and painless because he felt bad, according to police documents.

He said he’d already warned his girlfriend about having male friends at the house and “it was too bad because he has never killed an innocent before,” she told authorities, according to police documents.

The break in the case came Sunday, when police say the girlfriend had weapons in her car after an unrelated traffic stop. She led them to the mine where police eventually recovered the bodies near Eureka, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.