After more than four years, police have finally charged someone in connection with the death of an Illinois woman whose body was found in the woods.
Vanessa Ceja-Ramirez, 22, was reported missing in November 2020 after going for a walk with her mother in the Midlothian Meadows Forest Preserve... Continue reading here ▶
Two days later, she was found dead.
Police say she had been strangled and her body was partially burned. They also found evidence that she had been sexually assaulted.
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After a long investigation involving many search warrants and DNA testing, police have identified 30-year-old Dakota Petrey as the suspect.
He lived in an apartment in Oak Forest where Ceja-Ramirez’s phone was tracked after she disappeared.
Police say Petrey’s DNA matched DNA found on the victim, and that he was known to spend time in Midlothian Meadows. They say there’s no evidence that he knew Ceja-Ramirez.
Petrey was arrested on January 18th after being released from jail in Fulton County, Illinois, on other charges. He is now charged with first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault. It’s not yet known if he has pleaded guilty or hired a lawyer.
Sheriff Thomas Dart said, “This terrible crime is every parent’s worst nightmare. Our detectives worked tirelessly for years to investigate this case, and we never stopped trying to find Vanessa’s killer and get justice for her and her family.”
After Ceja-Ramirez disappeared in 2020, her family mourned her deeply. Her uncle, Alejandro Villegas, told CBS Chicago that she was a sweet, humble, and shy person who had a bright future ahead of her, and that she didn’t deserve what happened to her.
