75-Year-Old Used-Car Dealer Arrested, Charged in Laikyn West Murder

Ronald Chester Racki, 75, a used-car dealer who operates in the 500 block of Spur Street in Venice, Florida, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the disappearance and presumed death of 24-year-old Laikyn Marie West of Bradenton. Venice Police arrested Racki on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, according to the Sarasota Herald‑Tribune, and the Venice Police Department publicly announced the arrest on Feb. 23, 2026; Racki was booked into the Sarasota County Jail and remains jailed without bond. Law&Crime reports his next court date is set for March 20.

Investigators say key evidence came from a search warrant executed on Racki’s phone Dec. 20, 2024, which produced photographs showing West naked and bound with zip ties and handcuffs; at least one of those images carried metadata dated Sept. 13, 2024, the day West was last seen. The probable-cause affidavit obtained by the Herald‑Tribune also notes a phone call between Racki and West around 8 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2024.

Detectives pursued standard location and identity checks after West’s roommate reported her missing on Sept. 16, 2024, hospital, shelter and jail checks, review of credit and ATM records, canvassing known associates and social media monitoring, and found no trace of West. A journal entry recovered by investigators described an arrangement in which a man paid West $950 to allow him to chloroform her during sex, prompting detectives to interview Racki on Dec. 14, 2024, CrimeOnline reports.

Racki’s statements to detectives are part of the probable-cause materials. He told investigators he picked West up at her Bradenton home and drove to Venice for lunch, that West asked him to stop to buy drugs and he refused, and that he then dropped her off in the 5600 block of 5th St. E., Bradenton. Investigators found no witnesses to corroborate that drop-off and license-plate readers did not capture any vehicle registered to Racki in that area, according to CrimeOnline and the Herald‑Tribune. Racki told detectives he fantasized about chloroforming West but “never really chloroformed her,” said he had chloroform he used to clean car seats, and denied paying the $950; Law&Crime reports he also admitted he would pay West for sexual favors.

Police also followed physical leads. A car detailer who worked on one of Racki’s vehicles told investigators he noticed a suspicious stain on the rear floor and an odd odor, Law&Crime reports. Venice Police executed the phone search warrant after reviewing the journal entry and photographic evidence, and the investigation was presented to prosecutors before charges were filed.

Venice Police Chief Andy Leisenring, quoted by CrimeOnline, said: “After months of careful and coordinated investigative work, the evidence developed in this case supports this arrest and charge. We remain committed to seeking justice for Laikyn West and to bringing answers to her family.” The Herald‑Tribune reports the arrest involved coordination between the Venice Police Department, the Bradenton Police Department and the FBI, and that prosecutors in the Office of the State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit reviewed the evidence before filing the murder charge.

Law&Crime reported that a couple of weeks after detectives interviewed Racki in December 2024 he attempted suicide and, while hospitalized, reportedly told a nurse, “I killed four women six weeks ago.” Investigators say they have not found credible evidence to back that statement. Police continue searching for West’s body as the investigation and court process move forward.