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A Florida man has been taken into custody and charged with the murder of a 24-year-old woman who vanished in 2024.
Ronald Chester Racki, a 75-year-old used car salesman, was arrested by Venice Police on Friday. He faces charges of second-degree murder in connection with the death of Laikyn Marie West, who was last seen on September 13, 2024. The announcement was made in a recent Facebook post by the Venice Police.
West’s disappearance was reported by her roommate three days after she went missing, according to a report by the Herald-Tribune.
“After months of dedicated and coordinated investigative efforts, the evidence gathered has led to this arrest and charge,” stated Venice Police Chief Andy Leisenring. “We are steadfast in our commitment to securing justice for Laikyn West and providing her family with the answers they deserve.”
Investigators have disclosed that cell phone records indicate communication between Racki and West on the day she disappeared. The records reveal that Racki arranged to meet West to pay for sex. He reportedly picked her up at her residence in Bradenton and drove her to Venice for lunch.
Then, he said, West asked him to stop and buy drugs, but he refused, saying he dropped her off in Bradenton.
But no witnesses corroborated that statement, and license plate readers didn’t pick up any vehicle registered to Racki in the area.
Racki met with detectives on December 14, 2024, after they had found an entry in West’s journal saying that a man had paied her $950 to allow him to chloroform her during sex. He told the detectives that he had fantasized about it but “never really chloroformed her,” although he said he had chloroform that he used to clean car seats. He also denied paying West $950.
He suggested that West may have overdosed or perhaps had a medical condition.
On December 20, investigators executed a search warrant on Racki’s phone and found photographs of west lying naked and bound with zip ties and handcuffs. One of the photos was taken on September 13, 2024, the day she was last seen.
Racki’s phone also contained searches for violent pornography and “snuff” content. On the same day, the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office responded to a an attempted suicide by Racki. He was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where he stayed until January 1.
While he was in the hospital, he reportedly told a nurse he’d killed four weomen, but investigators say they found no evidence that any victims other than West exist.
In April last year, a car detailer told investigators that he had deep cleaned a pickup truck for Racki around September 2024 and saw a stain on the rear floor but he had no paper records of the cleaning.
West’s body has not been found.
Racki is being held in the Sarasota County Jail without bond.