The suspect accused of killing University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck allegedly assaulted another woman and preventing her from leaving his home a year before Lueck’s murder.
The Salt Lake City Tribune reports that Ayoola Ajayi, 31, is facing new felony charges of aggravated kidnapping and three counts of forcible sexual abuse, following allegations that he assaulted a woman in his home in March 2018.
Ajayi is facing multiple charges, including murder, in the death of the 22-year-old student, who went missing in June after landing at the Salt Lake City International airport following a visit to relatives in California. She is believed to have met Ajayi in a park and was never heard from again after she reportedly got into his vehicle.
Ajayi was arrested after a search of his home uncovered charred personal items believed to belong to Lueck as well as human tissue. Lueck’s body was found in early July in Logan Canyon, about 85 miles north of Salt Lake City.
Citing charging documents, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports that the unnamed victim accepted Ajayi’s invitation to dinner at his home after meeting him on a dating app. As the two were watching television on his couch, the suspect allegedly began kissing and touching her forcefully, and the victim tried to get up and get away. But Ajayi allegedly pinned her down and bit her multiple times, “causing her significant pain, and left bruising and bite marks,” the charging documents reportedly said.
The victim reportedly went to police after she learned about Lueck’s murder.
Since his arrest for Lueck’s murder, Ajayi was already facing charges of sexual exploitation of a minor after investigators reportedly discovered child pornography on his phone.
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