AJ Ajayi Named Person Of Interest In Disappearance And Murder Of Utah Student Mackenzie Lueck
He's been charged with aggravated murder.
Instagram When a person goes missing every single aspect of their private life goes under a microscope. You see, it isn't just potential suspects who have to worry about their dirty laundry being aired for all to witness, very often the victims themselves find personal details they would rather keep underwraps out for public consumption. It's unfortunate, but true.
That has certainly been the case for missing Utah woman, Mackenzie Leuck. After dissappearing on June 17th, a frantic hunt to find the young woman began. Unfortunately, in the process, this put Leuck's life under the microscope. And she's not the only one. Person of interest Ayoola "AJ" Ajayi wasn't named by police, but it didn't take long for the press to get a hold of his name and find out more about him. And now he's been charged with aggravated murder of Mackenzie Lueck. Who is AJ Ajayi?
1. Person of Interest
The case of missing University of Utah student Mackenzie Leuck has made national news, with people all over the country worried about the missing girl. Now, according to the Daily Mail, there's a new person of interest in the case who the police are watching very closely. Though police won't name him, the Daily Mail reports he is 31-year-old Ayoola "AJ" Ajayi, a former IT specialist with the army.
AJ has ties to Leuck that can't be overlooked. Take, for example, his property. According to the records, AJ owns a home that is less than five miles from the park where Leuck was last seen is located. The Salt Lake City police have been searching his home and collecting evidence from his residence, something they reported in their Thursday press conference.
2. On The Hunt
At the press conference, the police also made an unusual and deeply worrisome request that left those hoping for Lecuk's safe return floundering. The police are on the hunt for a matress and boxspring that previously belonged to AJ, and if they want to get those items it's because they believe that could potentially contain evidence that could help them locate Leuck, or at least figure out what happened to her.
The police have put out a public request that whoever is in possession of the matress and boxspring please come forward and return them to the authorities. Five days ago, the police shared, AJ listed both the matress and the boxspring on a website where free items are posted and exchanged, LetGo.com. AJ's property is listed on AirBnb, where he has one room to rent for $40 a night.
3. Who Is AJ?
According to his LinkedIn profile, AJ worked with the Army as an Information Technology specialist for two years before he decided to make a change and left the enlisted life in 2016. Currently, he works for Dell as a Senior Technical Support analyst. He has only been there 10 months, but no odd behavior on his part has ever been reported.
At Thursday's press conference, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown would not name AJ. Instead, all he said was that they have a male person of interest who is being investigated. That said, Brown did also reveal that while there's no official suspect, AJ's home is being investigated as having played a role in her dissappearance.
4. Sugar Baby
As the hunt for Leuck intensifies, more and more careful study of her social media has been examined. Leuck was texting on her Lyft ride from the airport to the park where she was last seen, and her active social media accounts make it clear that she was pretty open about the types of relationships she was interested in: Sugar Baby and Sugar Daddy.
A sugar baby is a young man or woman who seeks a relationship with an older person of means (Leuck herself suggests 35+) who will not only engage with them romantically, but also, will help finance the "Sugar Baby's" lifestyle. Leuck was open online about the fact that she is experienced in these relationships, at the time of her disappearance she claimed to be involved in two.
5. Secret Account
In addition to all of her public profiles, Leuck had a private Instagram account that seemed to be made only for potential or current Sugar Daddies. In her profile picture she is captured from behind wearing underpants that say "daddy". The police only became aware of this account when some of Leuck's friends came forward to share this part of her life.
Luckily, the police in Salt Lake seem pretty evolved and when asked about a potential connection only said that they were aware and they were investigating every single possible lead or connection to the missing woman's case. But, as of right now, the police have not disclosed if they have actually spoken to anyone who is dating Leuck at this time.
6. He's been charged with aggravated murder
Salt Lake City police have filed an aggravated murder charge against Ayoola "AJ" Ajayi. In addition to that, he is also facing charges of aggravated kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and desecration of a body. The investigation revealed that Lueck and Ajayi's phones were both in the North Salt Lake City park her Lyft driver dropped her off at within less than a minute of each other. This was just before Lueck's phone stopped transmitting or receiving data all together. On Wednesday, Ajayi's neighbors told police they saw him using gasoline to burn something in his backyard on June 17th and 18th. Lueck has been missing since June 17th. Salt Lake City Police's Mike Brown said: "A forensic excavation of the burn area was conducted, which resulted in the finding of several charred items that were consistent with personal items of Mackenzie Lueck." Police also found charred remains that was determined to be female human tissue with a DNA profile consistent with Lueck's.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.