Illinois police have charged a 30-year-old man in the murder of a woman who disappeared while on a walk with family in a forest preserve.
Dakota Petrey is facing first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault charges in the 2020 death of Vanessa Ceja Ramirez, NBC 5 reported. Police believe that Petrey strangled and sexually assaulted Ramirez before attempting to burn her body, the station reported.
Ramirez disappeared five years ago while walking with her family in the forest preserve, Fox News 32 reported. She reportedly told her family that she was tired and would meet them at the car, but she was not seen again. Two days later, her charred body was found, the station reported.
Police began to focus in on Petrey as a suspect after they found Ramirez's cell phone in the apartment building he lived in, NBC 5 reported. Police were eventually able to test DNA and match it to the crime scene.
"This heinous crime is every parent's worst nightmare," Sheriff Dart told Fox News 32. "It took years of tireless work by our police detectives to investigate this case, but we never gave up on finding Vanessa's killer and seeking justice for her and her family."
Petrey made his first court appearance over the weekend. He was ordered detained until trial, Fox News 32 reported.
