Accusation of aggravated murder, other charges against man accused of murdering MacKenzie Lueck, student in Utah

The man accused of murdering MacKenzie Lueck, a student at the University of Utah, was charged with aggravated murder and aggravated kidnapping several days after the police found his body at Logan Canyon.

Ayoola Ajayi, 31, faces four counts of indictment, including obstruction of second – degree justice and the desecration of a third – degree body, in the highly publicized case. which has captivated the state and the nation since Lueck's disappearance on June 17.

The charges, filed Wednesday by Salt Lake County attorney Sim Gill, indicate that Lueck died of head trauma. Gill stated that his body was found with his arms tied behind his back by a tie and a rope.

Ajayi was sentenced to jail on June 28 for the same charges. The charge of murder is punishable by death if Ajayi is convicted.

"I can absolutely tell you that no transaction has been concluded," Gill said at a press conference Wednesday, adding, "I think it would be premature to talk about the death penalty."

Lueck, 23, missing after her California flight, told her parents that she was back in Salt Lake City, then had left the airport and had no news. Her friends searched for days while the police asked the community for advice.

Investigators said Lueck had taken an airport train to Hatch Park in North Salt Lake early on the morning of June 17. She was intercepted by Ajayi, the police said, and her phone stopped transmitting data at that time. A search of Lueck's phone by the police showed that he was the last person to contact her.

Gill declined to comment on "earlier history" between Lueck and Ajayi, or "the nature or content" of the texts between the beginning of June 17.

"It continues to be an ongoing and active investigation. He did not reach a conclusion, "he said. … This work is open, active and engaged right now. "

Mobile phone records showed that Ajayi was near Logan Canyon on June 25, Gill said. On July 3, the police went to Logan Canyon to search for Lueck's body and located a disturbed area of ​​soil under trees. They discovered a charred human body and DNA tests revealed a Lueck-compatible profile, he said.

"It was an area that was set back from the main road" to Logan Canyon, Gill said. "A wooded area."

The canyon is two hours north of Salt Lake City. He did not comment on where he thought Lueck had been killed. Ajayi attended Utah State University, located in Logan, near the canyon.

Gill added that he expected the initial appearance of Ajayi to be scheduled for Thursday or Friday.

Lueck's parents, Greg and Diana Lueck, asked Gill to express their thanks for "the generosity of so many strangers and friends, the support and prayers that helped them through this very difficult time," did he declare.

"They were sincerely grateful and moved by the outpouring of love and compassion, and they wanted me to expressly thank all the people who communicated with them as such," he said.

Police began searching all night at Ajayi's home in the Fairpark neighborhood in Salt Lake City on June 26, after spending a search warrant on Lueck's phone and finding out that he was the last no one to whom she had spoken.

In his court, the investigators discovered a "zone of fresh excavations" where neighbors had reported seeing Ajayi use gasoline to burn something a few days earlier.

Gill added that Ajayi had bought a can of gasoline around 5 pm on June 17. A neighbor told the police that she had detected a "horrible smell" coming from the backyard later in the day, the charges said.

A forensic search at the excavation site uncovered a charred human bone, other human remains, a cell phone and other objects, the charges said. More charred items were found in a nearby alley.

The investigators previously stated that the human tissue found on the site had been matched by DNA to Lueck and that the found objects corresponded to his business.

Ajayi has no criminal background in Utah, aside from the traffic citation. In 2012, he was expelled from Utah State University after a robbery investigation. One of his colleagues reported to North Park police in 2014 that he had sexually assaulted her. Neither report has led to criminal charges.

The Salt Lake Tribune will update this developing story.