The Nigerian native accused of killing Utah college student Mackenzie Lueck, 23, reportedly arrived in the United States on a student visa.
Ayoola Adisa Ajayi, 31, was charged with aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping, and desecration of a body after being arrested on June 28.
Lueck, a student at the University of Utah, was reported missing on June 20. Investigators said at a press conference announcing the arrest and charges that Ajayi and Lueck met at a park in the early hours of that day, a scene witnessed by a Lyft driver who dropped the woman off.
Ajayi’s history included a 2009 arrival from Nigeria on a student visa, a law enforcement official told the conservative Breitbart website. Ajayi attended the University of Utah between 2009 and 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile, which was later deleted. Officials at the university said he never obtained a degree.
Tim Vitale, public relations director at the university, told KUTV that he could not say whether Ajayi got a student visa through the college or whether he had one already.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill confirmed with the broadcaster that Ajayi is a Nigerian national.
Ajayi was in the United States on the student visa until 2014, when he shifted his immigration status after marrying an American citizen, reported Breitbart. He and his wife later divorced, according to court records.
“Sometime after adjusting his immigration status, Ajayi applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen by claiming he served in the American military between Sept. 30, 2015, and Aug. 20, 2015. However, records show Ajayi never submitted any evidence to support his claim of military service,” Breitbart reported.
Maj. David Gibbs of the Utah National Guard told The Salt Lake Tribune that Ajayi was a member of the guard for six months in 2015 and 2016. Ajayi was unable to complete any of the requirements to move forward, Gibbs said.
“Private Ajayi was a member of the 214th Forward Support Company based out of Tooele, Utah, but did not attend Basic Training or Advanced Individual Training. As a result, he did not receive any certificates or awards from the Army National Guard. He was, therefore, ineligible to deploy or conduct any tours of duty with the Utah Army National Guard,” the Guard said in a statement.
‘Anger Issues’
Sakari Moore, who said he first met Ajayi when they were in basic training together with the U.S. Army in Fort Jackson, S.C., said that Ajayi “tends to have some anger issues.”
Arguments between Moore and Ajayi, who were roommates, would quickly lead to the latter becoming “irate and disruptive,” he told The Tribune.
“He doesn’t like to be told anything other than his way,” Moore said. “He snaps or loses his temper, [then] he comes back to his sweet self.”
Moore eventually moved away because of the situation.
A LinkedIn profile for Ajayi, which was later deleted, stated that he had worked for Dell, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Comcast since arriving in the United States. He also had a modeling profile.
The profile also indicated that besides studying in Utah, Ajayi studied at London South Bank University in the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2015.
In a listing for a book on Amazon that was described as being written by Ajayi, the author is said to have been born and raised in Africa.
The listing, which was later deleted, stated that “he has been a salesman, an entrepreneur, and a writer.”
“He has 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, ‘Forge Identity,’ a sample of which can be found on Kindle, Amazon, Facebook, and any current social media,” it added. “He lives in Salt Lake.”
