Updated as of 1/19/2024 at 9:30 a.m. ET
After a missing Black mother was found dead in a storage unit, her estranged husband was named the prime suspect in her killing. Now, prosecutors are seeking the maximum punishment.
Cory Hill, 51, was accused of killing his wife, 37-year-old Shakeira Yvonne Rucker. He was slammed with a first-degree murder charge. While already facing life in prison without possibility of parole, prosecutors for Orange County announced their intent to seek the death penalty.
The “cold, calculating methodology of the homicide” and a prior violent offense of shooting his ex-girlfriend and her family led the office to believe Hill should be put on death row, said State Attorney Andrew Bain on Thursday, per NBC News.
Prosecutors claim Hill brutally murdered his wife after she confronted him about being in a relationship with another woman. They say he left Rucker’s remains in the storage unit then marched over to the other woman’s house and tried to kill her.
Rucker’s family told reporters in a press conference they were on board with the prosecutor’s decision.
“We’ve been angry, we’ve been sad. Very confused. It’s just an indescribable pain that we feel,” said Dedra, Rucker’s sister.
What Happened?
Rucker was reported missing on Nov. 11. Winter Springs, Fla. police said she was last seen at a restaurant with Hill, 51, in the Polk County area. Family members said the mother of four told them she was headed home after picking up some food, according to WESH.
The FBI and several law enforcement agencies embarked on an 18-hour search to locate her, looking in nearby wooded areas, according to NBC.
As Rucker’s disappearance reached the six day mark, police received a tip Saturday evening that there was a rotting odor coming from a Self Storage unit located in Apopka, 20 miles from Rucker’s home in Winter Springs. Upon investigating the smell, police found Rucker’s remains and identified Hill as the owner of the storage unit.
He’s now considered the prime suspect in her alleged murder. Mind you, he’s already facing criminal accountability for a crime he committed just hours after Rucker went missing.
Hill was previously convicted of murder in 1992 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Years following his release, WESH reported he moved to Orlando… and now, we’re here.
The police have not provided an update on Rucker’s autopsy results.