A 75-year-old used-car dealer was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in the disappearance of a 24-year-old woman who went missing in 2024, after investigators said they found images on his phone showing her restrained and nude on the night she was last seen alive.
Authorities say the case against Ronald Chester Racki grew from a missing-person report into a homicide investigation as detectives traced the woman’s last known contacts, reviewed her writings and seized digital evidence that they say places her with Racki in Venice on Sept. 13, 2024. Police have not found the woman’s body, but they said the evidence supports the murder charge and that the search continues. The arrest has also drawn attention because investigators said Racki made a startling statement to a nurse during a 2024 hospital stay, claiming he had killed four women, a remark detectives said they could not substantiate but that helped intensify scrutiny of him.
Venice police said Racki was taken into custody early Feb. 20 at his place of business and booked into the Sarasota County Jail, where he remained held without bond. Police publicly identified the victim as Laikyn Marie West, a Bradenton resident who was reported missing on Sept. 16, 2024, after her roommate said she had not been seen for three days. Investigators said they determined West was last known to be alive on Sept. 13, 2024, and that the final documented contact placed her with Racki. Police said the two spoke by phone around 8 a.m. that day, and detectives later concluded Racki was the last person known to have seen her alive. Authorities said the pair went to Venice for lunch and then disappeared from the normal trail of texts and location data that investigators expected to see if West had safely returned home.
Detectives said their investigation focused early on Racki after they reviewed West’s communications and learned she had contact with him shortly before she vanished. Police said Racki told investigators he paid West for sexual favors and picked her up the day she disappeared. Investigators said they could find no evidence that he dropped her off afterward, and they began assembling a timeline using phone data, interviews and records tied to the Venice area. Police have not publicly detailed every step in that timeline, but they said the digital trail and witness statements led them to believe West died in Venice. Authorities said the murder charge does not rely on the recovery of her body, though they acknowledged that finding her remains is a major goal and would help clarify where and how she died.
Investigators said the case took a darker turn when they learned of West’s journal entries describing a man who paid her hundreds of dollars to use chloroform on her during sex. Police said detectives confronted Racki with the journal information during a December 2024 interview, and he acknowledged having fantasies involving restraints, chloroform and simulated rape, while denying that he actually chloroformed West or killed her. Police said Racki told investigators he had chloroform at his dealership and claimed he used it as a cleaning chemical for car interiors. Detectives later obtained a warrant for his phone and reported finding images they described as disturbing, including photographs showing West nude and bound with handcuffs and cable ties. Police said at least one image was taken around 10 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2024, the day she vanished, and they also reported finding violent pornography and other material that investigators said supported their view of what happened.
Police said they continued building their case through interviews and forensic work that stretched into 2025 and early 2026. In the probable-cause account described by authorities and local reports, detectives also spoke with a car detailer who told police he had worked on one of Racki’s vehicles and noticed what he believed was a suspicious stain on the rear floor area along with an unusual odor. Investigators have not said what testing, if any, confirmed the source of the stain or odor, and they have not publicly described whether they recovered physical evidence linked directly to West from a vehicle or a property. Police said the overall evidence picture, including the photographs and the timeline of West’s last known movements, supported an arrest and formal charge even without a recovered body.
Authorities said another key moment in the case came after Racki attempted suicide in December 2024, weeks after detectives interviewed him about West’s disappearance. Police said he was hospitalized and, during that stay, he told a nurse that he had “killed four women” weeks earlier. Investigators said they have not found credible evidence supporting that statement, and they have not announced any additional charges or identified any other potential victims tied to Racki. Officials said the claim was documented and became part of the investigative record, adding urgency as detectives continued to evaluate Racki’s communications, travel history and digital devices. Police have not said whether they opened separate missing-person reviews based on his alleged statement, but they said the investigation remains active and that tips from the public could still play a role.
Police Chief Andy Leisenring said investigators developed evidence over months through coordinated work among agencies, and he said the arrest was supported by that evidence. Leisenring said police remain committed to seeking justice for West and to providing answers to her family. Authorities have emphasized that the case began with a simple concern raised by a roommate and quickly moved into a complex investigation involving electronic warrants, interviews and cooperation among local and federal partners. Bradenton police and Venice police have said they coordinated closely, and officials said the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted as the case developed.
The disappearance left a gap that friends and relatives have struggled to explain, investigators said, because West’s normal patterns appeared to stop abruptly after the day she went to Venice. Detectives have not said whether West’s phone was recovered, destroyed or discarded, and they have not publicly described what they believe happened in the hours between the lunch trip and the time stamp on the photograph police said they found on Racki’s device. Authorities have also not publicly identified a specific location where they believe West died, or where they believe her body may have been taken afterward. Police said the lack of a body has complicated some parts of the investigation, but they said the evidence they gathered was sufficient for an arrest.
Racki’s case now moves to the courts, where prosecutors will have to present a narrative that explains how a missing-person report became a murder charge without a recovered victim. He is scheduled for an arraignment on March 20, and court proceedings are expected to address pretrial detention, discovery and the admissibility of key evidence, including the images police said they recovered from his phone. The charge of second-degree murder typically requires prosecutors to show an unlawful killing without premeditation, and the case is likely to turn on how jurors view the digital evidence, witness accounts and the timeline of West’s last known movements. Authorities have not said whether additional charges, such as evidence tampering or abuse of a corpse, are under consideration, and they have not publicly described whether they recovered chloroform or other materials during searches.
In Venice, the arrest has stirred unease because it centers on a business in a community better known for beaches and retirees than for high-profile homicide investigations. Police said Racki operated a used-car dealership on Spur Street, and investigators cited that location as part of his daily routine and access to vehicles. Officials have not said whether the alleged restraint images were taken at the business, at a home or elsewhere, and they have asked anyone with information about West’s last hours to come forward. The case has also prompted questions about what authorities can do when a suspect’s alleged statement suggests additional violence beyond the known victim, even as investigators stress that, so far, they have not confirmed other victims.
West’s family has not spoken publicly in detail through authorities, but investigators said they continue to update relatives as leads develop and searches continue. Police said they have not stopped looking for West’s body and that recoveries can occur long after a suspect is charged. Investigators said they will keep reviewing tips, records and forensic findings as the case moves forward, and they said they expect to provide updates if new evidence changes the scope of the investigation.
As of Feb. 24, Racki remained jailed in Sarasota County while detectives continued searching for West and reviewing whether his alleged hospital statement points to other crimes. His next court date is March 20, when he is expected to be formally arraigned on the murder charge.
Author note: Last updated February 24, 2026.