Vigil Held For Mackenzie Lueck As New Details Emerge About Her Suspected Killer

SALT LAKE CITY (CBSLA) — A vigil was held at the University of Utah tonight for slain El Segundo 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck as new details about her suspected killer emerged.

Friends and mourners gathered in Salt Lake City to honor and remember Lueck who was missing for nearly two weeks before police found her charred remains behind a Salt Lake City home belonging to 31-year old Ayoola Ajayi. He has been charged with aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, desecration of a body and obstruction of justice in Lueck's death.

While Ajayi doesn't have a criminal record, he was accused of rape five years ago. His accuser did not press charges.

CBS affiliate KUTV reports that Ajayi is a Utah State University graduate who served in the Army as an information technology specialist, was a freelance model, and, according to his LinkedIn profile, worked as a technical support analyst for Dell. It's unclear how the two may have known each other or what motive he may have had in her killing.

Lueck had not been seen since the early morning hours of June 17, when she returned to Salt Lake City after attending her grandmother's funeral in the Los Angeles area.

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She was a part-time senior studying kinesiology and pre-nursing and was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She was expected to graduate in the spring of 2020.

"I don't have a lot to say other than to voice how angry I am at the suspect," Lueck's best friend said at the vigil. "I would give her the biggest hug and let her know how much of an impact she made on my life, let alone anyone else's."

There are reports that Lueck met Ajayi on an online dating app, but police are not confirming those reports.