MacKenzie Lueck was an American citizen who was studying at Utah University. She went missing on 17 June 2019 from Salt Lake City International Airport from a trip to her California hometown for the funeral of her grandmother and took a Lyft from the airport.
Man accused of killing Mackenzie Lueck answers sex assault charges in court
The man accused of murdering University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck appeared in court Friday on separate charges of sexual assault. Ayoola Adisa Ajayi, 31, faces the new criminal counts after a woman reported he assaulted her more than a year before the death of 23-year-old Lueck. During a brief hearing, Ajayi wore a yellow jail uniform and spoke only to respond “yes” to questions from the judge over a video feed from the Salt Lake County Jail. The woman told investigators that she spoke with Ajayi through a dating app in March 2018 and he cooked her dinner at his home in Salt Lake City, 547 N. 1000 West. When she resisted his advances, he pinned her down and continued to assault her, prosecutors say, leaving bruises and bite marks on her.
Ajayi was charged Tuesday in connection with that allegation. He faces one count of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; and three counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. Investigators learned about the allegation as they pieced together what they believe happened in Lueck’s death.
Famous for
Missing on 17 June 2019 from Salt Lake City International Airport
Where was MacKenzie Lueck was born?
MacKenzie Lueck was born on the year of 1996 in El Segundo, California. She holds an American nationality and belongs to a white caucasian descent ethnicity. She grew up in El Segundo, California and was raised by her father Greg Lueck and mother Diana Lueck along with her three brothers whose names are unknown. Regarding her education, she attended El Segundo High School where she was a member of the water polo team in high school. Later, she joined the University of Utah since 2014 and she was set to graduate in 2019, she says on Facebook, but her graduation date was not immediately clear.
How tall is MacKenzie Lueck?
MacKenzie Lueck stands the height of 5ft 6in tall with a weight of 54kg. Furthermore, she had a slim body physique with attractive brown eyes and blonde hair color.
Career of MacKenzie Lueck
- While in college, Lueck has worked at Grifols, a plasma donation center, and at PRA Health Sciences, a lab in Millcreek, Utah.
- She has worked at PRA Health Sciences as a lab associate since August 2018.
- She previously worked as a personal assistant in the Salt Lake City area.
- Lueck is a former barista at Starbucks in Salt Lake City and The Coffee Bean in the Los Angeles area.
Death of MacKenzie Lueck
MacKenzie went missing on Friday, June 17th, when a Lyft driver picked her up and took her to an address in North Salt Lake, Utah, according to police. Police said the Lyft driver did take Lueck to the location she requested, according to a press release. Lueck, whose disappearance made national news and sparked a two-week search, was last seen getting into Ajayi's car, police said.
On June 26, after Lueck had been missing for a week, Salt Lake police swarmed Ajayi’s home, collecting bags of evidence. They were seen digging holes in his backyard near where neighbors had reported seeing him pouring gasoline on items and burning them. An autopsy determined Lueck died from blunt force trauma to the left side of her skull. After she was killed, prosecutors say Ajayi set fire to her body. Her charred remains were found by police in a shallow grave under a grove of trees in Logan Canyon on July 3. In Lueck’s death, Ajayi faces several charges including aggravated murder, a capital offense.
