ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The body of a missing Florida woman was discovered in a storage unit belonging to her estranged husband, leading to his arrest on suspicion of murder, authorities said. Shakeira Rucker, 37, was reported missing by her family after she was last seen leaving her home in Winter Springs on November 11. The week-long search for Rucker took investigators across four counties in central Florida before her body was found on Saturday.
Deputies found Rucker’s body at a storage facility in Apopka after receiving a call about a foul odor emanating from one of the units, Orange County Sheriff John Mina revealed. The mother of four had died from apparent gunshot wounds. The storage unit is registered to Cory Hill, Rucker’s estranged husband, who has been held without bond since November 12 on separate attempted homicide charges.
“We have plenty of time to continue collecting evidence and testing to build our case to charge Cory Hill with Shakeira Rucker’s murder,” Sheriff Mina stated. “We’re not looking for anyone else.”
According to Winter Springs Police Chief Matthew Tracht, Rucker was last seen leaving her home with Hill and heading to the Davenport area of Polk County. The timeline between her disappearance and the discovery of her body remains unclear, with the authorities yet to release her time of death.
Hill, aged 51, was arrested following an incident on November 12 in which he allegedly tried to kill his ex-girlfriend. Orange County deputies reported that Hill went to his ex-girlfriend’s house and fired shots at her and her cousin. They managed to escape into the house, with the ex-girlfriend locking herself in a bathroom and her cousin protecting two children. Hill forcibly entered the house but left when he couldn’t find the ex-girlfriend, only to be apprehended soon after.
It has not been confirmed whether the November 12 shooting was connected to Rucker’s murder. Rucker’s family held a candlelight vigil in her memory on Sunday, speaking of her love for her family and her four children.
Rucker’s brother, Clarence Thornton, urged the family and community to remain strong for her children at the vigil, saying, she cared about her kids. All she wanted to do was go to church and just live and have fun.