Weeks After His Estranged Wife's Body Was Found in His Storage Unit, Fla. Man Is Charged with Murder

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Orange County Corrections; Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Florida/Facebook

Orange County Corrections; Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Florida/Facebook

A Florida man is facing murder charges after thebody of his missing estranged wifewas found in his storage unit, say authorities.

On Friday, the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit formally filed charges against Cory Hill for the murder ofShakeira Rucker, 37,of Winter Springs, the office announced.

For now,Hill, 51, is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm for Rucker’s death, the state’s attorney said in the release.

The charges come after Rucker’s body was found in a self-storage unit in Apopka, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced onFacebook.

Her body was discovered after someone complained about a smell coming from inside a unit registered to Hill, the State Attorney’s Office said in the release.

The mother of four children,ages 7, 9, 16, and 18,was found dead in the unit with apparent gunshot wounds. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said at a previousnews conference.

She went missing on Saturday, Nov. 11. She was last seen that night at a restaurant in Davenport in Polk County with Hill, investigators said.

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On Nov. 14, he was named a person of interest in her disappearance. The following day, Winter Springs police released a photo of security video showing Hill and Rucker leaving the restaurant. She went missing after learning that Hill had been seeing another woman.

Hill was already in jail after being arrested on Nov. 13 fin connection with his attempt to kill his ex-girlfriend, Angel Milligan the day before, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

On Nov. 12, Hill allegedly came to her house and tried to kill her after firing gunshots at her house, according toonline jail records, theState Attorney’s Officeand Mina, who spoke about it at a previous press conference.

For that incident, he is charged with four counts of second-degree attempted murder, burglary, shooting at a building and violation of a domestic violence injunction, according toonline jail recordsand theState Attorney’s Office. When Rucker’s body was found, Hill was already in the Orange County Jail for those charges.

Milligan had only dated Hill for several months and ended the relationship in September, she toldFox 35.She ended the relationship when she found out he was married, she told WESH.

Hill remains in jail without bond stemming from his November arrest for attempted second-degree murder and other charges against his ex-girlfriend and her family, the State Attorney’s Office said.

His public defender did not immediately return calls for comment.

As Hill awaits trial, Rucker’s family has set up aGoFundMefundraiser to support her children.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the tragic loss of our beloved Shakeira,” Rucker’s sister, Leonia “Dedra” Thornton, wrote in the GoFundMe.

“She was a loving mother to four beautiful children and a victim of senseless violence,” she wrote, adding later: “This was unexpected and has taken a major toll on her children.”

The funds will go toward her children’s future, she wrote, “to provide them with the care, comfort, and resources they need during this incredibly difficult time.”

source: people.com