Police Find Remains of Mackenzie Lueck

University of Utah student went missing earlier this month
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2019 12:57 PM CDT
Police Find Remains of Mackenzie Lueck
This undated selfie provided by Carly Reilly, left, shows her with Mackenzie Lueck, right.   (Carly Reilly via AP)

An expected but grim development in the case of Utah student Mackenize Lueck: Police have found the remains of the 23-year-old, reports ABC News. “We have retrieved Mackenzie Lueck from Logan Canyon,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said Friday, adding that he had made "another devastating call" to the woman's parents. The canyon where the body was found is about 85 miles from the home of the suspect in the case, reports the AP. Police previously arrested 31-year-old Ayoola Ajayi, who has been booked on murder and other charges, including kidnapping and desecration of a body.

Authorities had already turned up burned human tissue in Ajayi's yard, and it proved to be a DNA match for Lueck, per the Salt Lake Tribune. They also found some of her personal belongings at the burn site, also charred. Ajayi was the last person Lueck had communicated with before her disappearance on June 17. The native of Nigeria is being held without bail, and formal charges were expected to be filed next week. (Ajayi once wrote a disturbing novel, and he also asked a contractor to build a sound-proof room in his home.)

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