Formal charges remain pending against the suspected killer of 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck, who police believe was murdered in Salt Lake City last month.
KUTV reports that the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office did not file formal charges Monday against Ayoola Ajayi, who was arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering the University of Utah student. Lueck was last seen on June 17 after she took a Lyft from the Salt Lake City International Airport to Hatch Park, where her driver reportedly saw her get into another vehicle with a man, believed to be Ajayi.
A legal expert told the news outlet that the deadline to file formal charges is Wednesday afternoon, per a 72-hour hold policy that begins on the first business day following the arrest.
“A prosecutor in certain circumstances can request an extension, ask the jail to hold onto somebody while they’re doing additional investigation or preparing the charges,” Steve Burton, head of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told KUTV.
Burton added that he believed it was unlikely that Ajayi would be released without charges.
“Everything that we know now leads to the one suspect,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown told CBS This Morning. “But this investigation is not over.”
More than a hundred people gathered at an emotional campus vigil to honor murdered University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck. pic.twitter.com/0r3W5Av3ZP
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) July 2, 2019
In a press conference on Friday, police said that human tissue believed to be Lueck’s remains, along with some of her personal possessions, were found burned in Ajayi’s yard. Authorities have not said how they believe Lueck was killed.
