Warrant reveals new information about the last moments of MacKenzie Lueck's life
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — More than six months after MacKenzie Lueck disappeared, and was later found murdered, 2News has obtained court documents that offer new information about the last moments of her life.
The case, at times shocking, at times horrifying, continues to unfold as prosecutors develop their case against Lueck's suspected killer, Ayoola Ajayi.
A recently unsealed search warrant contains some details that were previously only speculated about as the case unfolded over June and July of 2019. By no means does the information complete the narrative — in some cases, it makes it less clear — but it does offer information not previously known to the public in the case.
The warrant reveals Lueck's parents became suspicious that something was wrong when an iMessage did not go through to their daughter's phone shortly after she texted that her flight landed in Salt Lake City on June 17. Lueck texted her mother, “Landed,” and “Love you mama,” after she arrived at Salt Lake International Airport at approximately 2 a.m.
Greg Lueck noticed that his wife’s reply to MacKenzie was green instead of blue, indicating MacKenzie’s phone wasn’t on, she was out of service, or her iMessage was not working.
The Luecks said they knew MacKenzie planned to use a ride share, such as Uber or Lyft, from the airport.
The Lyft driver who dropped MacKenzie off at Hatch Park — where police believe she was picked up by Ajayi — after she got back to Salt Lake that night also offered some unusual information.
A maroon Subaru was already in the parking lot when the Lyft driver pulled up to Hatch Park. He told police that he saw a woman get out of a vehicle to greet Lueck, and that Lueck and the unknown woman appeared casual and friendly with each other.
The driver was eliminated as a suspect after Lyft records showed a customer was transported directly after MacKenzie was dropped off in North Salt Lake, and that the driver continued transports for the rest of his shift.
In the days following, the Luecks said they attempted to call MacKenzie, but she did not answer. Greg Lueck said all of the calls went straight to voicemail, indicating MacKenzie's phone had been turned off or was no longer in service.
AT&T records obtained by police showed MacKenzie's phone had been turned off since she went missing on June 17 at 3 a.m.
On June 22, Greg Lueck told the Salt Lake City Police Department that MacKenzie had booked a June 23 flight to California using an unknown American Express card. Southwest Airlines confirmed she missed the flight.
Lueck's father told police that after her death, he found a separate bank account in her name, of which he was previously unaware. Greg Lueck said his daughter already had an account open with Wells Fargo that she was receiving deposits to from her work, and had a joint account with her father for tuition. A warrant SLCPD served found a bank application dated June 4. Detectives also found bank statements for opening a new account dated Feb. 4.
During interviews, friends informed police that Lueck was on Tinder, Seeking Arrangements, Call Her Daddy, all of which "include sexual conversation, photos, videos and date arrangements that MacKenzie has been involved in for quite some time."
Greg, who was the account-holder for Mackenzie’s AT&T mobile number, found messages between MacKenzie’s phone and a number with a 206 area code. That number belonged to TextMe, a third-party messaging app. The communication began on June 3 and continued up until MacKenzie's phone was powered off on June 17.
Records from TextMe revealed several IP addresses that were used to communicate with MacKenzie's phone on the day she disappeared. One of those was registered to Ajayi.
Detectives went to Ajayi's Salt Lake City home on June 24. He agreed to speak to them, and denied knowing MacKenzie prior to seeing her photo shown by police.
Ajayi told the detectives he left his WiFIiopen to the public because he operates an AirBnB out of his residence.
RELATED: Full timeline: The disappearance, search, and murder of MacKenzie Lueck
After they were given permission to search Ajayi's phone, police found an app called Seeking Arrangements installed on the device.
Shortly after they left his house, Ajayi contacted police to say he received a text message from MacKenzie's phone on June 16 at 6:12 p.m. It was a question mark. He responded with the words, “seeking arrangement.” He also sent of a photo of himself at MacKenzie’s request. Ajayi claimed their communication ended after that.
Police found MacKenzie's personal phone number saved in Ayaji's phone as an unnamed contact with the words "TextMe" underneath it.
Ajayi agreed to let police forensically extract his cell phone, if he could consult with his attorney first. Records indicate Ajayi's cellular device was in the same area of North Salt Lake during the same window of time MacKenzie was last seen there, and that he was the last person she had contact with via text.
Surveillance video obtained by North Salt Lake police showed a dark-colored four-door Sedan leaving Hatch Park on June 17 shortly after the Lyft driver. Detectives compared the vehicle on the video to the 2013 Kia Optima owned by Ajayi.
"The characteristics of the vehicle on the video are consistent with the shape, size and general appearance of a Kia Optima," the warrant states.
On June 26, police served a search warrant on Ajayi's residence, property and vehicle. A 6-foot by 7-inch area in the backyard was covered in a thin layer of mulch. A garden hose was dragged over the area and a piece of wood fencing had a smoke pattern in the shape of a wheelbarrow, which was found inside the garage.
A neighbor told police she saw large flames and smoke coming from Ajayi's yard "sometime last week," which she thought was possibly on Tuesday or Wednesday, which would have been June 18 or 19. The neighbor said she told Ajayi if he didn't call the fire department, then she would.
She claimed to have seen Ajayi putting gas on the fire, dragging a hose toward the blaze and making a phone call. She described the smell of the fire as “something I’ve never smelled before."
Police seized several electronic devices belonging to Ajayi and charred items believed to belong to MacKenzie Lueck from the Salt Lake City home.
“A certified cadaver dog was brought into the yard and almost immediately indicated on the area of the yard that had been disturbed at 19:24 hours," the warrant states. "An alleyway runs behind the property and items that appeared to be semi-burned were located just on the other side of the fence on Ayoola Ajayi’s yard. Those items included what looked like black clothing and a possible strap from a purse or backpack.”
The Crime Lab was able to develop a DNA profile and confirmed the muscle tissue samples taken from the backyard belonged to MacKenzie.
Ajayi was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on June 28. Less than a week later, MacKenzie's body was found in Logan Canyon. Ajayi is due back in court next month.
2News producers Alyssa Roberts and Marlene Mendoza contributed to this report.
