31-year-old, Ayoola Ajayi, a Nigerian tech worker residing in Salt Lake City, has been charged with murder and kidnapping in the case of Mackenzie Lueck, a 23-year-old University of Utah student.
The deceased body was discovered in a wooded area with her arms bound behind her, and the cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.
According to prosecutors, Ajayi was the last person Lueck was in contact with on the day she disappeared.
The district Attorney Sim Gill revealed that the victim’s arms were bound behind her back, and her remains were found with a hole in her head.
However, no motive or established connection between Lueck and Ajayi has been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Ayoola is been charged with aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and desecration of a body. He is expected to appear in court again.
Lueck, a kinesiology major, went missing on June 17, after returning from her grandmother’s funeral.
She took a Lyft ride from the airport to a local park in the early morning hours, where she was last seen getting into another vehicle. Cell phone data placed both Lueck and Ajayi at the same park simultaneously.
Her phone was turned off shortly afterward and was not reactivated.
Ajayi was arrested two weeks after Lueck’s disappearance.
During a search of his property, investigators discovered human tissue matching Lueck’s DNA profile in a burn pile in his backyard, leading to his arrest.
However, attorney Gill detailed the findings, stating that, “A freshly dug site behind Ajayi’s home contained a human bone, charred muscular tissue, part of a scalp with hair, a cellphone, and other charred personal items belonging to Lueck. Additionally, evidence including charred black fabric, buckles was found in an alleyway near Ajayi’s residence.”
Peoplesmind
