GINA B. GOOD / PVT The body of Jeremy Frye was found last week behind this tree in the open desert just off Adkisson Street where it intersects Lola Lane. Advertisement

A young man's body was found at the end of a dusty road in Pahrump last week. Several days later the suspect in the case reportedly confessed and is up on charges.

While rumors and speculation abound around town, details of how and why the tragedy occurred remain sketchy.

It was clear, however, that something desperate took place Aug. 19 which led to the grisly discovery in the open desert west of Blagg Road near Adkisson Street and Lola Lane.

The body of Jeremy Brandon Frye, 20, of Pahrump, was found Aug. 21, by Nye County sheriff's detectives after they received a phone call from the victim's father, Joe W. Frye, a long-time Pahrump resident, who said his son was missing and he suspected foul play.

That call led to the questioning of Branden Scott O'Connor, 21, also of Pahrump, who was familiar to the Nye County Sheriff Office's Scorpion Narcotics Unit due to previous undercover drug purchases.

During the initial questioning, O'Connor said only that he had met the younger Frye, but as the interview progressed, O'Connor admitted he was present when Frye was killed by a firearm.

However, O'Connor did not say he pulled the trigger.

O'Connor then agreed to show detectives where Frye's body was located, and while en route to the location admitted he had hidden the murder weapon.

Both the body and weapon were located exactly where O'Conner described.

The suspect also told deputies that he had taken Frye's money and had it in a cigarette pack at his home. After a warrant was obtained, a search of O'Connor's home, which he shares with his girlfriend, turned up the suspected murder weapon.

Frye's money was also found along with other evidence linking O'Connor to the homicide.

O'Connor eventually confessed and is being held without bail on charges of homicide and robbery with a deadly weapon.