RANCHO CORDOVA, CA — An arrest was announced Friday of Mikilo Morgan Rawls, 37.
Rawls was arrested for the rape and killing of a woman who vanished while taking a walk near her home by the American River.
Emma Roark, 20, lived in Rancho Cordova, and vanished during a noon walk on Jan. 27. Her body was found last week near the American River about a mile from her home, authorities said. Roark was found in a secluded area known to be filled with homeless encampments.
“This type of violent crime tears at the fabric of community safety,” Sacramento County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jim Barnes said at a news conference Friday night.
Rawls has a long history of criminal infractions in Sacramento County. He was identified as a suspect in this case by DNA evidence. His DNA was on file and identifiable because of a criminal record that included burglary, probation violation and resisting an officer, the Sacramento Bee reported.
“This individual was transient,” Barnes said. “The Sheriff’s Office is sympathetic to the transient population, we understand people are experiencing hard times. But there is evil amongst them, and that’s what Mr. Rawls was.”
