No updates in murder case

More than three weeks investigating a Maricopa woman’s murder hasn’t turned up anything significant yet, local law enforcement told InMaricopa this morning.

On Dec. 5, 38-year-old Crystal Uptain was found dead near the Butterfield Station Landfill in Mobile.

InMaricopa broke the story a week later.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Uptain’s body under “suspicious circumstances” with “unexplained injuries,” the department said. They ruled her death a homicide.

People who knew Uptain said she was an Arizona native who worked at Fry’s Marketplace on John Wayne Parkway. They described her as a happy person who relished in spending time with her relatives who lived nearby.

Maricopa Police Department reported Uptain missing from the home she shared with her husband on Grantham Road in Homestead, according to public records. Since her body was found, the local PD has worked with homicide detectives from Maricopa County.

Neither department has yet been able to name a suspect or person of interest in the homicide.

“Detectives are actively working the case, however, there are no updates at this time,” MCSO Sgt. Calbert Gillett said today.

As of Dec. 27, this marks the only murder case tied to Maricopa in 2023.