TITLE: Woman’s body discovered in storage unit after bad odor leads deputies to scene
ORLANDO, Fla. – A shocking discovery was made in Orange County over the weekend when a bad odor led deputies to a storage unit in Apopka where they found the body of missing Winter Springs mother Shakiera Rucker.
The investigation began after Rucker, 37, was last seen leaving her home in Winter Springs on November 11. After a weeklong search with “twists and turns,” her body was discovered inside a storage facility in Apopka, a city about a dozen miles west of Winter Springs, following a call to 911 about a foul smell coming from one of the units.
Rucker, a mother of four, died from apparent gunshot wounds. The storage unit is registered to Cory Hill, Rucker’s estranged husband and “prime suspect” in the case. Hill has been held without bond in the Orange County Jail since November 12 on four counts of attempted homicide after he allegedly shot at his ex-girlfriend and her family. He will now be charged with Rucker’s death, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
The timeline from when Rucker was last seen to the discovery of her body remains unclear, and Rucker’s time of death has not yet been released publicly.
Hill, 51, was arrested just before midnight on November 12 after allegedly attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend. The woman said she had recently “called a female who was later identified as Cory’s wife, and that’s when he became upset and told her that she would regret it,” according to an arrest affidavit.
Rucker’s family held a candlelight vigil in her memory, where they shared memories of her kindness and love for her family and children. “She was a caring person,” Clarence Thornton, Rucker’s brother, told Wesh 2. “She cared about her kids. All she wanted to do was go to church and just live and have fun.”
Rucker’s siblings are urging others to stay strong for the sake of Rucker’s children. They are understandably angry, but they must “stay strong for the sake of my sister,” Thornton said at the vigil. “She’s up there looking at us. We got to stay strong for her kids.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office emphasized that they are still collecting evidence in the case and building their case to charge Cory Hill with Shakeira Rucker’s murder. They confirmed that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.