The murder of Mackenzie Speth Lueck occurred in June 2019. 23-year-old Lueck, a student at the University of Utah, was reported missing and her bound, burned and buried remains were later discovered. 31-year-old Ayoola Ajayi was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder.
On June 17, 2019, in the early morning hours, Lueck arrived at the Salt Lake International Airport from California. She was picked up by a Lyft driver and taken to Hatch Park. Lueck, who told the driver she was meeting a friend, was dropped off at around 3:00 am. Lueck’s arms were bound behind her back with zip tie and rope. She suffered blunt force trauma on the left side of her head. She was also missing part of her scalp and had a 5-centimeter hole in her skull. The killer burned her body and buried her in a wooded area in Logan Canyon.
Investigation
On June 20, Lueck’s father called the Salt Lake City Police Department to inform them that no one had heard from her since she arrived back in Utah. On June 28, a Salt Lake City man, identified as Ayoola Ajayi, was arrested and charged with the kidnapping and aggravated murder of Lueck, along with desecration of her body. Detectives found that Lueck and the suspect had exchanged several text messages in the early morning of June 17, with Lueck’s last text to him being at 2:58 am. Cell phone data placed both Lueck and the suspect in the park at 2:59 am. A search of and around the suspect's property yielded Lueck’s belongings and some of her remains. Specifically, a freshly dug area in his yard contained her charred personal items, charred muscle tissue which the Utah State Crime Lab identified as Lueck’s, and bone. Neighbors reported that the suspect had bonfires behind his garage on June 17 and 18 that resulted in a “horrible smell.” Additionally, charred fabric and other items were found in a nearby alleyway. Investigators also searched the suspect's vehicle which they reported smelled strongly of gas. There, they found a red gas can, similar to the one the suspect purchased at 9:00 am June 17. On July 5, police reported that Lueck’s body had been recovered in Logan Canyon. On July 3 while searching, investigators found recently disturbed ground off the main road in a wooded area. There, in a shallow grave, was a charred human body. The medical examiner’s office determined that the body was Lueck. According to Salt Lake CountyDistrict AttorneySim Gill, the suspect's phone records place him in Logan Canyon on June 25, between 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm. The trial was originally set for March 12, 2020, but has been postponed so that prosecutors will have more time to go through evidence and give it to the suspect's defense attorneys. It was reported that the suspect had a book on Amazon featuring characters who are killed and burned. The author's name was the same as that of the suspect arrested, and a Facebook page with photos of the suspect promoted the book. The suspect was also charged with an unrelated kidnapping of another woman who he met on a dating app. Prosecutors allege that on March 10, 2018, the suspect invited the woman into his home. While they watched T.V on his couch he began “intensely” kissing the alleged victim and trying to inappropriately and forcefully touch her. When she tried to get away, the suspect is said to have pinned her down and bit her at least 3 times, causing "significant pain" and leaving "bruising and bite marks." The woman came forward after the suspect was arrested for Lueck's murder. The suspect also faces 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. These charges came about in August 2019 after police also say that they found "numerous pornographic photos of children on his computer as they investigated Lueck’s death" on July 2.
