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SALT LAKE CITY — The man accused of killing and burning the remains of University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck now faces additional charges of possessing child pornography.
An additional 19 charges were filed Tuesday against Ayoola Adisa Ajayi in 3rd District Court by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Ajayi, 31, who already faces charges of aggravated murder, a capital offense; aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, desecration of a human body, a second-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony; now faces 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.
Salt Lake police have served numerous search warrants while investigating the Lueck case, including on Ajayi’s phones and laptop.
Investigators who searched Ajayi’s computer “observed numerous images of children engaged in sex acts,” according to charging documents filed Tuesday.
The images are mostly of children between the ages of 4 and 8 years old, the charges state.
After Ajayi’s arrest, a contractor told KSL that Ajayi had asked him in April to build a secret, soundproof room in the basement with hooks on the wall and a lock with a digital thumbprint reader.
Ajayi is accused of killing Lueck just hours after she flew into Utah after attending a family member’s funeral in California. She took a Lyft from the Salt Lake City International Airport to Hatch Park in North Salt Lake, where she met Ajayi just before 3 a.m., according to prosecutors.
Forensic evidence collected by police placed Ajayi’s cellphone back at his Salt Lake residence, 547 N. 1000 West, minutes later at 3:07 a.m., according to charging documents. That’s about the time it would take to drive directly to his house in the Fairpark neighborhood from the south Davis County park.
Neighbors told police that later that morning, they saw Ajayi using gasoline to try and burn something in his backyard.
On June 26, a large number of police officers served a search warrant on Ajayi’s home, collecting multiple bags of evidence. During that search, human remains were collected in the backyard where Ajayi was allegedly seen burning items.
On July 3, Lueck’s charred remains were found in a shallow grave in Logan Canyon. Her arms were bound behind her back by a zip tie and rope. A 5-centimeter hole was located on the left side of her skull with part of her left scalp missing, according to charging documents. The Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office determined Lueck died from blunt force trauma to the left side of her skull.
The next court hearing for Ajayi is scheduled for Aug. 26.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
