Found Deceased UT - REMAINS FOUND - MacKenzie "Kenzie" Lueck, 23, Salt Lake City, 17 June 2019 #12 *ARREST*

[MFH]

Is it unusual to pay an attorney via Venmo? I would think an attorney would want a check or credit card to keep billing and taxes accurate. That’s how I’ve always paid mine (but mine were never criminal cases).

It seems a little odd, but maybe he went straight from being interviewed by police (no evidence of this, only that the police said they talked to the person who she had last communicated with), to the lawyers office and he didn’t have a check on him? It’s almost unbelievable to me that he would make the transaction public! And his transaction is the only public transaction to the attorneys acct. all IMOO

 

[NuttMegg]

It is optional. You have permanent resident status if you have a green card, and never have to apply for US citizenship if you do not want to. According to his jail admission papers he is a US citizen.

That's what I was thinking. It's weird because in some countries you can vote with a green card, yet it's not possible in the USA. I wonder when he got his citizenship, maybe we have some agreement with Nigeria to make it easier. I hope he didn't get it thru a 6 month enlistment in the army.

 

[Seattle1]

wouldn't paying before even arrested also say she isn't appointed by the state?

On Tuesday 6/25 - AA may have paid Gustin only for an hourly consult - telling her he thought he was being investigated for a crime.

When Gustin was tracked down in the SLPD parking lot Saturday, she stated she might be representing him at his hearing later this week, and would not confirm if she was representing him past his initial appearance.

Although Gustin was clearly caught off guard by reporter, she also provided that AA could be represented by a public defender -- and couldn't provide anymore info.

Video clip at ink below

MOO

Defense attorney named in MacKenzie Lueck case

 

[DD8]

I assume his lawyer may want him to plea out of the death penalty if prosecution files the request? Would that be a tactic by prosecutor to get a plea deal soon? Is that even how it works? I think there is a 60 day period to file for DP.

I'm thinking this possible too. Some attorneys will take a case mainly to handle the sentencing part when the person will likely be found guilty, right?

 

[ZsaZsa]

That's what I was thinking. It's weird because in some countries you can vote with a green card, yet it's not possible in the USA. I wonder when he got his citizenship, maybe we have some agreement with Nigeria to make it easier. I hope he didn't get it thru a 6 month enlistment in the army.

You would not be eligible for citizenship based on working for the army for 6 months.
You can apply for citizenship after 3 years residence, if you have been married to a US citizen all of that time, but in general it is 5 years before you can apply and then the process takes many months.

 

[InspectGadget]

does a persons name stay 100 percent the same from birth threw immigration or can a name be changed or have part left out, etc?

I was trying to figure this out myself. I am trying to backtrack and find an article which discussed Nigerian practices and how they often added nicknames, they had examples of them finding their way onto official Nigerian IDs. With that said, I wonder if his ID indeed had a name added later in life, and that is the ID her presented to the appropriate immigrant office, I would think that this could make its way onto his official papers here.
I know in days past immigrants very easily changed their names. I am the official family genealogist (not a VE...yet lol) and I hit several brick walls because both my maternal and paternal grandparents changed their last names over the course of their life (seemingly to assimilate a bit). In any case, this is why I was poking around his name, just interested in finding info that may be under some rocks. All IMHO.
A few articles I found regarding Nigerian naming customs for geeks like myself who would like to fall down this rabbit hole.

Naming practices in Nigeria.

Understanding peculiar naming culture in various Nigerian tribes

It's All in a Name - Nigerian

Actually, they are quite interesting if it’s s topic of interest.

Thanks for welcoming me, and sorry I have posted so much today, I admit I get excited about this aspect of sleuthing ​

 

[PommyMommy]

I assume his lawyer may want him to plea out of the death penalty if prosecution files the request? Would that be a tactic by prosecutor to get a plea deal soon? Is that even how it works? I think there is a 60 day period to file for DP.

60 days following arraignment. If there's a plea deal it's not going to happen anytime soon. The case is still being investigated. MOO

 

[slcmike]

None of that looks true when you compare it to what has been reported about the man (that I have seen). I know there are loads of people with the same name but this has identifiers unique to him.

Microsoft? Did he really work for Microsoft?He also credits himself with two years in the military.

Maybe I haven’t read enough about this guy because it looks like a bunch of BS. Honestly though, I don’t really want to read that much about him. Not right now.

It could have been an online university program.

 

[MassGuy]

I want to preface this post by telling everyone that I am in Canada and my conversation with the person noted below involves Canadian law and LE, but interesting nonetheless as it may relate to Mackenzie's case.

I had the opportunity to chat at great length with a friend who is a Police Officer (Forensics), who for the past 5 years, has been involved in investigating child *advertiser censored*. His job specifically involves digital forensics and putting people "at the computer/phone/ipad" etc. and building the cases. He has been a Police Officer for 30 years, spending the last 15 in Forensics. He has seen an awful lot in his years.

I usually don't speak to him about this stuff because it's "work" for him and quite frankly, I don't want to know what he knows.

Yesterday, I told him about this case. All of it.

I was specifically interested in the whole getting warrants process with respect to MacKenzie's phone, social media etc.

In Canada, depending on circumstances, LE can access a missing person's digital information without a warrant however, there must be an immediacy to the request. For example, had Mackenzie shown up in the park, walked over to other car and was grabbed and pulled into the vehicle, LE could have accessed her phone records immediately. On the other hand, the fact that, according to the Lyft driver, she was expecting the car to be there, seemed happy that the car was there and willingly went to the car and got in, then you have a different situation and would need a warrant.

Here's the other thing; in the minds of LE, the SD/SB link and her willingness to meet whoever she met at 3:00 am in the morning could potentially lead LE down a different path in the early going in the investigation. My friend understood perfectly how LE may not have jumped all over Mackenzie's disappearance in the early going. He also said that it would take a lot of convincing to get a Judge to sign off on a warrant in the early goings based on the information that LE had regarding the disappearance. LE would really need to have a lot more information that would convince a judge that a warrant was truly needed and that this wasn't a case of someone going off the grid with someone.

My friend also expressed exasperation, as a Police Officer, of having his hands tied a lot of the time due to privacy laws. You want to investigate. You want to get that information from someone's digital footprint, but you can't. Sometimes the "idea" of privacy vs. the reality of what it really means when something like Mackenzie's situation arises, handcuffs the very people who are trying to save you. Just a philosophical conversation all around and interesting to get an LE perspective.

Finally, my friend showed me how they get information off computers, phones etc. and the computer programs they use to do this work. Absolutely fascinating. My big take away.....you know all those saved passwords and logins we all have? Here's a tip, if you ever plan on doing something bad you might want to stop saving those. It makes it real easy to get into everything you've ever looked at. LOL

Canadian law is different, but from what your friend described, it’s a lot like American law as far as obtaining warrants goes.

This issue was not being able to justify a warrant, as there was no evidence a crime had been committed.

His phone alone is going to be a treasure trove, and if he has a laptop he’s in even more trouble.

Even if he deleted things, that stuff can be recovered.

I doubt he deleted anything though, as he thought he had led police to a dead end.

Wrong!

 

[gitana1]

It’s an issue because there were a lot of posters thinking that his attorney would have a duty to report to LE what he said.

Of course, there’s no such duty, but I do have a question about whether there’s any possible exception. Specifically, what if there’s a current or future threat to another person?

That's the only exception. But it's not a duty to report. It allows the attorney to do so.

 

[slcmike]

Is it unusual to pay an attorney via Venmo? I would think an attorney would want a check or credit card to keep billing and taxes accurate. That’s how I’ve always paid mine (but mine were never criminal cases).

You can track your taxes just as easily with online payment. I've run a small business before and all of our payment was done online through paypal. Paypal owns venmo.

 

[Seattle1]

Is it unusual to pay an attorney via Venmo? I would think an attorney would want a check or credit card to keep billing and taxes accurate. That’s how I’ve always paid mine (but mine were never criminal cases).

I believe most states ethical guidelines have embraced credit card and alternate payment methods in this day and age.

However, I'm sure there may still be a state or two that will not allow the firm to pass on the user fee (by payment service) to the client.

MOO

 

[MsBetsy]

Would the timeline of the marriage and divorce fit into a path for attaining citizenship (i.e. marriage fraud)?

It seems he was married for at least 7 or 8 years so I doubt that would play a role.
He was a student on and off for several years so maybe he started with a student visa.
Or maybe he was a refugee who immigrated here with his family. I'm not sure if we even know the details of how or why he came here, but I'm pretty sure he is a citizen, although he may have dual citizenship.
Either way I guess he will be spending the rest of his days in the USA, although now it will be on the inside of a prison. Imo

 

[Tortoise]

You would not be eligible for citizenship based on working for the army for 6 months.
You can apply for citizenship after 3 years residence, if you have been married to a US citizen all of that time, but in general it is 5 years before you can apply and then the process takes many months.

According to a post upthread he came to the US in July 2009. Then there was the rape allegation in 2014 -

A northern Utah police department says it investigated a rape allegation five years ago against a man suspected of killing a Salt Lake City college student, but say the alleged victim declined to pursue charges.
The Latest: Suspect in Utah killing had been accused of rape

I suppose the allegation/incident could have happened just after he got his citizenship, but if he could only start the process when 5 years residency was up, the timing does seem tight, presuming that he came to the attention of LE at that time.

 

[Niner]

Here is Susanne Gustin website his attorney for Monday and possibly permanent.

Home

She's very pretty and easy on the eyes. He'll enjoy that.

So if I'm reading this correctly - he has court hearing on Monday July 1st?

TIA!

 

[margarita25]

I just had a thought on how SG might approach his defense, should she or whoever take his case and go trial:

She might say they consensually engaged in BDSM and it was an accident. He accidentally strangled her. I bet that’s what they will say. And paint a bad picture of our victim. Moo.

 

[margarita25]

Here here! I have deeply personal reasons for agreeing.

Years ago I stayed at an Airbnb. It was for one night only. I woke up a week later in a Greyhound bus station dressed in one of those kid’s sailor outfits.

(? What?

ETA:
Sorry for double post, autobot)

 

[1987]

(? What?
Sorry for double post, autobot)

I wanted to ask that, but I was afraid. I have been educated here more than I ever would have thought.

 

[Peppery]

I just had a thought on how SG might approach his defense, should she or whoever take his case and go trial:

She might say they consensually engaged in BDSM and it was an accident. He accidentally strangled her. I bet that’s what they will say. And paint a bad picture of our victim. Moo.

The problem with that is it takes a lot longer than expected for someone to die. At least 4 minutes of constant pressure. And they’d pass out first, which I think would make most people engaged in consensual activities stop. Even if it was a consensual or BDSM encounter, he’s still responsible for what he did and continuing after she was unconscious. Doesn’t that negate consent, if a person is not conscious to give it?

 

[Ltiger4]

I just had a thought on how SG might approach his defense, should she or whoever take his case and go trial:

She might say they consensually engaged in BDSM and it was an accident. He accidentally strangled her. I bet that’s what they will say. And paint a bad picture of our victim. Moo.

And this is exactly why what they are able to prove regarding premeditation is going to be vitally important.

Or he could even say she was distraught over her grandmother and took her own life, and he panicked. Or he could say she overdosed. He could make up any reason for her to be dead, and then say his traumatic childhood caused him to panic and burn her body.