(From left: Mackenzie Lueck. Right: Ayoola Ajayi. Picture credits: The Salt Lake Tribune)
*Please be aware that I will be sharing some disturbing details in this post involving domestic violence, sexual assault and murder. I will, as always try to be as sensitive as I can be whilst stating the facts of the case*
It pains me to have to include the beautiful and talented Mackenzie Lueck in my series, The Sugarbaby Murders. All of the cases have been tragic and each victim matters, but to describe Mackenzie as just a ''Sugarbaby'' would be a terrible injustice, for she was more than that. She was just 23 years old when she had her life cruelly and sadistically taken by a man she mistakenly trusted. Mackenzie (who preferred to be called 'Kenzie') was a promising student at the University of Utah and had dreams of becoming a nurse, she also worked part time and was committed to her Mormon faith.
So when Mackenzie mysteriously vanished in June of 2019, everyone was shocked and frantic with worry because it was so out of character for her. Mackenzie would always keep in contact with her close family and friends and for messages and calls to go unanswered? The people who knew her best knew that something was wrong. Those closest to her knew that she had taken a flight to Salt Lake City International Airport from her family home in California where she was originally from (she had been visiting her family and had been attending her grandmother's funeral) but when nobody could reach her, the panic set in. It's testament to how loved Mackenzie was that straight away alarm bells were ringing and people were concerned about her whereabouts.
Her family and friends had a right to worry because they were sadly right, Mackenzie did come to harm and it was a situation that should never have happened. Being a student, working part time and trying to make ends meet whilst away from the support of close family, took it's toll on Mackenzie and with student debts racking up she had heard about other girls at her University joining a site called 'Seeking Arrangement'. She had been told that joining this site would put her in contact with men who would help her out financially if she went on dates with them.
The opinion on 'Seeking Arrangement' is divided, some people have purely online arrangements whilst other girls will actually meet their 'Sugardaddies' in person. With some Sugarbabies they will just go on a date and with others they will provide sexual services in exchange for more money.
Mackenzie was looking for a man who could help her out with her debts and claimed in her advertisement on the site that she was serious and looking for a serious arrangement. It was on here that she was contacted by an older man by the name of Ayoola Ajayi who claimed to be living in Utah and had previously studied at the same University (he'd kept details to himself such as his history of violence towards women and the fact that he'd been kicked out of University for theft). He'd also had a stint in the army but that didn't last long either. Ayoola was the type of person who would never finish anything he started, situations with him would either end in some sort of disgrace or he would simply give up. His neighbours thought of him as a bit of a weirdo who never spoke two words to them, instead he would walk around his backyard with his earphones in preferring not to engage in conversation.
Ayoola was portraying himself as a nice, rich guy on 'Seeking Arrangement' but what he actually was, was a dangerous threat to women and had harmed women in the past as well as being involved in petty crime. He was a raving fantasist who had a strange sexual appetite as well as fantasies of committing murder, so much so that he actually wrote a self published book that he sold on Amazon (this book has now been removed). The book was about murder and the burning of victim's remains.
If you have had the unfortunate opportunity of watching Ayoola in action in police footage, you will see how much of a master manipulator this guy actually is. When his home was searched when Mackenzie was reported missing, he was acting like Mr harmless nice guy who just wanted to help the cops. He was lying through his teeth but the cops were not buying it.
The tragic truth of Mackenzie's sudden disappearance soon became clear, she had been keeping in regular contact with Ayoola on the 'Seeking Arrangement' site and the pair were messaging each other back and forth before arranging a meeting. When Mackenzie had arrived back in Utah that night in June, she took a cab to a park in the early hours of the morning. It was there in the darkness that she met Ayoola. Either by force or persuasion, Mackenzie ended up back at Ayoola's house and the next thing that anyone knew was that she was missing and he claimed he had nothing to do with it, even going as far as to saying that Mackenzie had actually blocked him from the 'Seeking Arrangement' website. His phone records and search history said otherwise.
All the evidence led back to him and when his house was searched the police made the heartbreaking discovery of Mackenzie's personal items along with some burned remains. Her body was later found and more items were found in the Jordan river which was near to the house. Ayoola had tied Mackenzie up with rope and zip ties, she had been subjected to a horrendous assault and suffered blunt force trauma to her skull as well as being strangled. He then tried to burn her remains along with her personal items. When he had problems burning her body he took her to a wooded area in Logan Canyon where she was placed in a shallow grave, the rest of her belongings were thrown in the river.
As horrendous as this case was, thanks to the incredible effort of the family and friends of Mackenzie together with the police, Ayoola was charged very quickly with her kidnap and murder. A contractor had came forward to reveal that Ayoola had contacted him previously about the possibility of creating a soundproof room for him in his home, the room would also contain hooks. Ayoola gave a ridiculous story that he had a girlfriend who was Mormon and against drinking so he needed the soundproof room and hooks to hide the alcohol. It was clear that he had planned the whole nightmarish scene. The contractor found him to be very creepy and refused to do the job.
Ayoola kept telling everyone who didn't care to listen, that he had PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) as a way of gaining some sort of sympathy but the man was a monster with sick fantasies and any act that he was trying to put on just wouldn't wash. He faced the courtroom and was given life in prison. It was a small price to pay for taking away such a beautiful life. As well as being the sweetheart that she was, Mackenzie wanted to help others by fulfilling her dreams of becoming a nurse but all that was taken away from her. She was a young, naive girl who made a mistake meeting a monster. You wish you could turn the clock back and talk to her, tell her not to go and meet this strange guy in a park in the early hours of the morning but we've all done silly things when we were young. Mackenzie had just attended her grandmother's funeral, maybe her mind wasn't in the right place at the time or maybe she fell for Ayoola's nice guy act? whatever the case, she did not deserve to lose her life.
Ayoola was a loser, a no mark who has to spend the rest of his life behind bars at the cost of the American tax payer. He robbed us all of a shining light who brought goodness into the world and wanted to help people in need, just think of all of the vulnerable people she would have helped through her nursing career. It is a sad and tragic loss.
RIP Mackenzie.
Further Reading & Sources:
Thank you for joining me in my latest post in this series, I know it was another difficult one to get through but I appreciate you being here. I think as well as sharing these heartbreaking cases in the series, it is not only important to share what happened to these beautiful young girls but to serve as a warning to anyone who is tempted to join sites such as 'Seeking Arrangement' or is tempted to meet a strange man for financial reasons. It is a very dangerous and risky thing to do. In these current days of 'influencers' and pressures to have a certain lifestyle, a lot of young people place a lot of importance on money and the lines between what is safe and not safe, become blurred. I'm sure that the lovely girls that I have written about in this series, would want to warn anyone who was thinking of going down this route. Money isn't everything.
I hope you will join me in my final post in this series next Sunday, until next time please stay safe and see you (hopefully) on my socials x
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