Harvey

Murder charges filed in 2020 death of suburban woman found in forest preserve

Charges were filed more than four years after the victim's body was found in a Midlothian forest preserve

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Murder and sexual assault charges have been filed against a 30-year-old man accused of killing a 22-year-old Harvey woman and dumping her body in a suburban forest preserve.

According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, 30-year-old Dakota Petrey is facing first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault charges in the death of Vanessa Ceja Ramirez, whose body was found in the Midlothian Meadows nature preserve in Nov. 2020.

According to police, Ramirez disappeared while on a walk in the preserve on Nov. 2 of that year. Two days later, her body was discovered, launching a massive investigation into the case.

An autopsy revealed that Ramirez had been strangled and sexually assaulted, and an attempt was made to burn her body, according to a press release.

During their investigation, authorities found Ramirez’s cell phone in an apartment building in suburban Oak Forest, a building that Petrey lived in.

Once authorities began to zero in on Petrey as a suspect, DNA evidence was tested and a match was found, according to the Sheriff’s Office, and he was taken into custody at the Fulton County jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges.

Petrey appeared before a judge over the weekend, and was ordered held pretrial, according to authorities.

No further information was immediately available in the case.

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