A person arrested within the homicide of a lacking 24-year-old lady was the “final particular person to see her alive” greater than a 12 months in the past in southwest Florida, police stated.
On Friday, February 20, Ronald Chester Racki75, of Venice, was arrested on a second-degree homicide cost in reference to the 2024 disappearance of Laikyn Marie Westthe Venice Police Division introduced in a information launch.
West, a Bradenton resident, was reported lacking on September 16, 2024, three days after the final recognized sighting of her in Venice, police stated.
At a sure level, the investigation into her disappearance grew to become a murder case, based mostly on proof obtained by investigators, in accordance with authorities.
The proof established that “West and Racki have been recognized to one another and had organized to satisfy,” police stated.
He allegedly final noticed her in Venice, in accordance with authorities.
Florida authorities declare that they’ve arrested a 28-year-old man for the alleged position they alleged he performed within the sexual assault and loss of life of a 56-year-old lady, whose physique was discovered on a seashore in Hollywood the day after Christmas. Brandon Ward McCray‘s arrest was introduced by police on Monday, January 5. However U.S. (…)
Info on Racki’s authorized illustration or whether or not he had entered a plea was not instantly obtainable.
West’s housemate was the one who reported her lacking to the Bradenton Police Division in September 2024, in accordance with a information launch issued by the division on Racki’s arrest.
West’s housemate stated that she disappeared after she was picked up from their house by an individual driving a white sedan, in accordance with Bradenton police.
The housemate grew to become involved when West by no means got here again and in the end missed a flight she was presupposed to take, Bradenton police stated.
Authorities are nonetheless actively trying to find West’s stays, in accordance with Venice Police Division Captain Eric Hill.
Throughout a February 20 information convention, Hill stated that “Though an arrest has been made, this investigation just isn’t over.”
“Ms. West has not been situated and investigators proceed efforts to seek out her,” Hill stated.
The Venice Police Division famous within the company’s information launch that below Florida statute, legislation enforcement and prosecutors can “transfer ahead when the proof helps {that a} murder occurred and identifies the accountable social gathering, even when stays haven’t been recovered.”
Racki’s arrest was coordinated by police in Venice and Bradenton together with the FBI, in accordance with authorities.
It’s unclear how Racki and West knew one another, as authorities haven’t shared additional data on the character of their relationship.
“What in the end supported possible trigger on this case was the alignment of a number of, unbiased sources of proof over time,” Hill stated. “No single assertion or piece of proof stood by itself.”
An arrest has been made within the brutal homicide of an Arizona teenager who was reported lacking greater than two weeks in the past, Us Weekly has realized. Yessenia Gabriella Norman, 18, was discovered lifeless in an residence in Tolleson, Arizona, on January 28. On the time, the residence was rented by a person named Randal Basilio (…)
Venice Police Division Chief Andy Leisenring stated on the information convention that “There can be some particular details that we will be unable to speak about or launch simply because of the ongoing investigation after which the long run legal proceedings.”
Racki is being held on the Sarasota County Jail with out bond, in accordance with police.
Within the meantime, Hill stated that West’s “household continues to stay with out the closure that they deserve.”
“We’re looking for anybody who is aware of one thing, regardless of how small or insignificant, to come back ahead and get in touch with (the) Venice Police Division,” Hill added.
The Bradenton Police Division encourages anybody with data on West’s disappearance to name Sarasota County Crime Stoppers at (941) 366-8477.