The body of a Florida mother initially reported missing was found in her estranged husband’s storage unit in Orange County on Saturday following an extensive search. Per WKMG-TV, the discovery of Shakeira Yvonne Rucker’s body comes after Crimeline offered a $5,000 reward for information about her whereabouts.
Authorities said that after wrapping up a search at the Bob White airfield in Mount Dora, deputies made their way to a storage unit facility at 2400 Wiggins Road after a 911 caller notified authorities about “an odor coming from one of the storage units.”
Sheriff John Mina said the responding deputies found Rucker’s body inside the storage unit in question, adding that the facility is registered to the victim’s estranged husband Cory Hill. Mina also said they suspect Rucker was fatally shot at the storage facility. Hill has since been arrested and charged in connection with Rucker’s disappearance and death.
“We’re not looking for anyone else. He will be charged with the murder, eventually, in this case,” Mina said. “…I want to talk about the pain and suffering that Shakeira’s family have been through and really, Cory Hill could have stopped a lot of that pain and suffering by talking to investigators in the very beginning instead of putting them through this week-long nightmare. The storage unit was registered to him, he had to have known that we would eventually find her in there, so it’s very, very disappointing, and again our heart goes out to the family.”
Besides Orange County, other areas authorities searched for Rucker included Seminole, Lake and Polk counties. “I can’t thank them enough, our partner agencies, to come to an outcome. It’s not the outcome we expected, but there’s a little bit of closure for Shakeira’s family,” Winter Springs Police Chief Matt Tracht said.
“…A week ago today, essentially, Shakeira was reported missing. We know from evidence that she left with Mr. Hill and went down to Polk County, to the Davenport area. Through the investigation, we were able to track some leads and those leads brought us to Lake County, then those leads brought us back to Orange County, and obviously you’re aware of the outcome here in Orange County. Like I said, it’s not what we expected. We do grieve with Shakeira’s family.”
The last time Rucker was seen was on November 11. After she was reported missing, authorities on November 14 named the deceased victim’s estranged husband as a person of interest after security footage they obtained showed Hill and Rucker together the last time she was spotted, WKMG-TV reported.
Hill is currently being held without bond. But Mina said the suspect refused to answer questions linked to Rucker’s whereabouts when detectives spoke with him. On November 13, Hill was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly opened fire on his girlfriend and his family the day prior, authorities said.
“We have plenty of time to continue collecting evidence and testing to build our case to charge Cory Hill with Shakeira’s murder,” said Mina.
