Suspect in Murder of Student Mackenzie Lueck Wrote Novel With 2 Burning Deaths

Suspect in Murder of Student Mackenzie Lueck Wrote Novel With 2 Burning Deaths
Ayoola Ajayi in a file booking photograph. Salt Lake County Jail
Simon Veazey
Updated:

The suspect accused of murdering student Mackenzie Lueck self-published a novel about a teenager haunted by witnessing the murders of two people who are burned alive.

The charred remains of the missing 23-year-old Utah student were allegedly found on June 28 in the backyard of the 31-year-old suspect, Ayoola Ajayi.

Salt Lake Police told reporters on June 28 that Ajayi was facing charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping, and desecration of a body in her death.

He was apprehended by a police SWAT team three days later. He is currently being held on bail, awaiting the formal filing of charges, according to The New York Times.
Mackenzie Lueck, 23, a senior at the University of Utah. (#FindMackenzieLueck via AP)
Mackenzie Lueck, 23, a senior at the University of Utah. #FindMackenzieLueck via AP

Now, it has emerged that Ajayi last year self-published a novel entitled “Forge Identity” which, according to the blurb, is about a teenager who witnesses murders.

A Facebook page for the book is still available, but the Amazon page selling the book has been removed, according to reports.

A description or extract of the book says: “Ezekiel was almost 15 when he witnessed a gruesome murder. An angry mob burned his neighbor alive in the street and the man died at his feet. Sadly, it was not the last time he witnessed such horror.”

The woman Ajayi is accused or murdering, Mackenzie Lueck, went missing in the early hours of June 17, last seen taking a Lyft ride to North Salt Lake.

Mackenzie Lueck in file photos. (Salt Lake City Police Department)
Mackenzie Lueck in file photos. Salt Lake City Police Department

According to police, the same day neighbors reported Ajayi burning something with gasoline in his backyard, where investigators later found a freshly dug area, with human tissue belonging to a woman and some of Lueck’s charred personal items.

Ajayi says he was “born and raised in Africa” according to the since-removed bio on Amazon, reported the Daily Beast. According to Salk Lake County jail records, he is now a U.S. citizen.

He said he “has been a salesman, an entrepreneur, and a writer” and  “survived a tyrannical dictatorship, escaped a real life crime, traveled internationally, excelled professionally in several industries, and is currently curating a multi-platform advertising campaign for his debut novel.”

Detectives told the Daily Beast that they would look over Ajayi’s book.

His estranged wife, Tenisha Ajayi, told KUTV that she was shocked when she heard Ajayi was accused of murdering Lueck.

She did say that he showed signs of violence in their relationship, however, and became controlling and abusive.

“I just stopped talking to him because I was fearing for my life,” she said.

“He didn’t want me to do nothing. He didn’t want me to talk to nobody or nothing,” she said.

Ajayi reportedly told a contractor in detail about a secret soundproof room he wanted to be built, to include a thumbprint lock and hooks on the wall.

Brian Wolf, the contractor, said that he recognized Ayoola Ajayi’s house when he was watching the news.

Wolf said Ajayi contacted him in April. Wolf was under the impression he’d be looking at fixing issues stemming from a flood but Ajayi instead asked him to erect a secret room for listening to loud music.

“I thought it was kind of weird to sit in a little room to listen to music real loud,” Wolf told KSL. “It wasn’t a big area. It was just weird.”

Ajayi informed the contractor he wanted the room to have a lock that could only be opened with his thumbprint and large hooks placed around six feet above the ground, anchored in concrete walls. He claimed the hooks were for a liquor cabinet that he wanted to hide from his “Mormon girlfriend.”

“That was another reason I was like, ‘That’s kind of weird that you need a soundproof room to listen to music and drink your alcohol in,’” Wolf said.

“Then the soundproofing came in and the … fingerprint thumb lock [keypad] thing, and then he was adamant about telling me that money was no [object] and he wanted it done as soon as possible,” Wolf added to the Deseret News.
Simon Veazey
Simon Veazey
Freelance Reporter
Simon Veazey is a UK-based journalist who has reported for The Epoch Times since 2006 on various beats, from in-depth coverage of British and European politics to web-based writing on breaking news.
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