Law&Crime Sidebar - ‘Rotten’ Smell Led to Grisly Discovery Inside Florida Storage Unit

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

Shakeira Rucker’s remains were found in a storage unit rented by her estranged husband, Cory Hill, in November 2023. Now, Hill could potentially face the death penalty for murder. But his attorneys aren’t going down without a fight. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber has details on multiple crime scenes allegedly connected to Hill, as well as the fight to have critical evidence thrown out.GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/shakeiras-rucker-children-supportPLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Get 50% off of confidential background reports at https://www.truthfinder.com/lcsidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. It's just an indescribable pain that we feel with what's going on with what happened with Shakira Rucker. A Florida mama four goes missing and her family launches a desperate search to find her. But they are left heartbroken when a strange smell coming from a closed storage unit alerted with, that something wasn't right. Police body cam video gives us a closer look at how the investigation played out and the brutal crime spree the suspect allegedly went on that left a woman dead. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber.

Authorities in Orange County, Florida say a man named Corey Hill shot and killed his estranged wife, 37-year-old Shakira Rucker in 2023 in his rented storage unit and left her body in the side to decompose. From there, he allegedly went on a wild crime spree before finally being taken into custody. At last check, he now faces nine charges, including first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, and the state seeking the death penalty in this case. Now, Shakira was a mom of four kids, then seven, nine, 16, and 18 years old. Her family told Fox Orlando that she was a devoted member of her church and a beloved part of the community. But I want to lay all this out for you.

I want to lay out exactly what authorities believe happened here. So we begin with family members who reported to the Orange County Sheriff's Office that they last heard from Shakira on November 11, 2023. Multiple agencies in Orlando and the surrounding areas were involved in a search to find her with the sheriff saying deputies were putting in 16 to 18 hour days as they tried to find her. Now, according to Winter Springs Police on the night of November 11th, Shakira was seen on surveillance video at a restaurant with Corey Hill. Next morning, the two were seen entering the storage facility known as your storage units in Apopka. According to investigators, Hill was apparently seen leaving, but Shakira never came out. Authorities say Hill shot Shakira inside that storage unit, his storage unit, closed it up and left.

Nearly a week later on November 18th, deputies were called out to that facility because of a bad, smell and some sort of liquid starting to ooze out from under the door, authorities later said that was blood. According to court documents, the property manager had already opened the unit door and thought she saw a human head. Body cam video shows two deputies responding and they're directed to the storage unit, which is closed, but it doesn't have a lock, so they open it up. Is it alma? Oh. You have to look that to the side. Except for a black female, no pulse, no vitals.

As the investigation got underway, deputies learned that a witness, who was a storage unit right next to Hills, had reported to employees that there was something off with the nearby unit. And he claims the employees kind of brushed it off, saying it was probably oil or something. something that had spilled, and that they couldn't open it up, couldn't open up the unit without permission from the owner, from the tenant. And deputies spoke with the witness the day after Shakira's body was found. When I went over then, got the car, drove to the event, hung out with my girlfriend. When I came back, it was like 6.40, so the office is closed, and I noticed something was dripping towards my unit. I filmed it. I took pictures of it.

That was about what time? It was 640, 6.45. It's on Sunday afternoon? Yes. Okay. Okay. And then, but no one was there, so I couldn't tell them, you know, hey, what's happening. So I came back because I was getting sick. And I had to do another thing that was like, and Monday morning, I went back to it over there, told them, hey, this is what's happening.

There was three workers there. One of them wasn't taking me that seriously. And the other one, he was like, okay, well, I told them, come with me out, take pictures because, you know, it's sticking into my unit. Yeah. and after that they told me they were going to call me and I was sick so I stayed home the rest of the time and then Saturday when you guys were yesterday yeah so six days later I went there in the morning because I was getting better and I told hey what's the update you know what's going on she didn't know anything about it she told me that the manager had told her it was like an oil spill

did you speak to the same person or it was a different girl a different employee yeah okay and then when I went into my unit that's when I noticed it started to smell bad okay And she was like, I can't do anything about it. I can't go in there. And then they said they can't go in there? Yeah. Okay. Now, I'm asking you all these questions and I'm going to have you fill out a statement.

Yeah. And I really need that statement to be how you're telling me. What are you telling them? Very specific to the detail. If you run out of space, I'm going to get you more paper because it seems like you're going to have, you're going to run out of space. I'm going to have you more paper, but this needs to be really detailed. And then also, when you saw that, that leakage on Sunday. yes what did it see like the wasn't like fresh like liquidy yes it looked okay so there is red

obviously yeah but there's also like a clear liquid so my thought was maybe someone stuck a fridge in there with some old meat and it just dripped out yeah that's why i wasn't too keen on calling right away but if i would have known yeah yeah and you you obviously know what the situation is now yeah and i'm sure you saw all news right you did your part yeah yeah i found out through my drop and she's the one that is like, is your storage area? Like, yeah, it is. And now that I went over there, got the car and noticed there's no walk on the unit next door. So I'm like, okay, I put two to it together. I don't like that they weren't taking me seriously with the whole situation. Yeah, exactly.

Now, this witness took a few photos of what he saw saying the liquid was leaking toward his unit. That's when I noticed that November 12th. You noticed all that right there. All that that was happening. How many more pictures are there? There's that one where I zoomed in and I took a flash one because it was, I kind of noticed that it was red. November 12, 647 p.m. Yep.

And then that video was by accident. You can't really see anything. Okay. So we'll just focus. Focus on the other one. Yep. Can you email these pictures to us? And then we'll give you our work emails.

The deputies went over the timeline with the witness, who says when he first went to his unit on November 12th, there was nothing amiss. But when he came back later that day, that's when he noticed the liquid. And police believed that Shakira was shot sometime after the unit neighbor left, but before he came back on November 12th. So around 7 and 7.30, you went to go pick up that car. Yes. And you didn't see anything. Good to know. And then when you came back at 646 to drop the car back off.

That's when you saw it? Okay. Now, a warrant for Corey Hill's arrest for murder gives us more details about what investigators found at the scene. It reads, quote, deputies arrived on scene and smelled the distinct odor of human decomposition emanating from storage locker 3032. The storage unit was then open, and a black female in blue shirt and blue pants, remember that attire, blue shirt, blue pants, was found and pronounced deceased. And the female's hair was a fired cartridge casing. employees were able to give deputies information about Hill's rental history as well as a copy of his driver's license and deputies obtained a search warrant documented what they found in the arrest paperwork it reads there was also blood near the female on the ground and walls there was no evidence

to suggest the victim was shot somewhere outside of the storage unit and then moved into the storage unit there's evidence that the perpetrator attempted to conceal the body haphazardly by placing two tires in front of the body. Based on the positioning of the female's body, the tires were placed there after the female fell to the floor. Then you have video surveillance. So video surveillance at the storage facility reportedly showed Hill arriving in his car with someone in the passenger seat wearing, remember what I said, a blue shirt and blue pants, so the exact attire worn by the victim in this case. When the car leaves about 20 minutes later, according to deputies, no one is in the passenger seat.

According to the arrest warrant, Rucker had recently discovered her estranged husband had been in a romantic relationship and living with another female. Rucker and the Paramour learned they had both been deceived by hell. So, according to deputies, in the hours after he allegedly killed Shakira, he tried to kill this other woman as well. So deputies discovered that a woman named Angel Milligan actually had a protective order in place against Hill. approximately three hours after he's believed to have killed Shakira, Hill reportedly showed up at Milligan's house with a gun. According to an arrest warrant for this incident, Milligan was outside her

home with her cousin Christopher and her two sons were inside. Angel advised that she looked down the street and noticed a black vehicle which she identified as the vehicle belonging to Corey Hill, ex-boyfriend of two months. Angel said she recognized the vehicle because it was an ambassador's sign on the outside of it. The vehicle approached the front of her house. Corey exited the vehicle while holding a small black handgun. Angel and Christopher began running towards the front door in an attempt to enter the residence, and Corey immediately began shooting at them.

Angel said she heard what she believes was a round or a bullet fly closely by her ear. So the warrant says that Milligan hid in the bathroom while her cousin went to a bedroom, and he told deputies that Hill kicked down the door of the bedroom holding a gun at his side. Christopher claims that he was holding Milligan's one-year-old son at the time. Hill was allegedly holding a gun down at his side and demanded to know where Milligan was.

Now, at some point, Hill left the home. Milligan, her cousin, her children, they were physically unharmed. But the warrant goes on to detail the damage that was done, or apparently done to Milligan's home. Quote, upon responding to the residents, there were four bullet holes observed in the front door, casing found outside of the front door. There were two bullet holes located on the back wall where there's a desk and computer station set up, and one bullet hole observed on the side of the wall in the living room area, which is where the children were sitting at the time of the shooting. There was also video surveillance of Corey

running up to the home with a firearm and surveillance showing him kicking in the kitchen window and entering the residence. So according to the warrant, Milligan had called Shakira, who she learned was Hill's wife, and when Hill found out, he reportedly told Milligan she would regret doing that. Now, in terms of a timeline here, Hill was actually arrested for that shooting at Milligan's home first before being connected to the storage unit where Shakira's body was found. So at last check, right now and all, he faces nine counts in Orange County Court. First degree murder with a firearm, attempted first degree murder with a firearm, three counts of attempted second degree murder with a firearm, burglary of a dwelling with an assault

or battery with a firearm, shooting at within or into a building, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, keep that in mind, violation of domestic violence injunction or foreign protection order by threatening violence. We were able to see that huge list of charges not only on the Orange County Court website, but also on TruthFinder, the powerful background checker that's able to locate Hill's profile in seconds using just his name and location. And yes, we use TruthFinder to get details on people involved in our stories. But even if you don't work in true crime, it can be an excellent resource to give you some peace of mind. After all, it's one of the largest public record search services in the United States.

And with a paid subscription service, you can get access to unlimited reports about almost anyone. So right now you can get 50% off of your first month of confidential background reports. Just go to truthfinder.com slash LC sidebar. And get this, Hill has not only been accused of murder before, but he was convicted and served time in prison on this. According to WESH in Orlando, Hill was featured in a news report back in 1992 in Suffolk, Virginia. His car had apparently been stolen with his two-year-old daughter inside. She was actually thrown out of the car window as two suspects got away, but reportedly only had cuts and bruises. But according to police, Hill ended up seeking revenge against one of the suspects, confronting him at this guy's home.

There was some sort of fight. This altercation ended up with Hill shooting the man. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now, it's unclear exactly when he got out, but he reportedly moved to Orlando in 2016, according again to WESH. Angel Milligan told Fox 35 Orlando that she didn't know about Hill's criminal past. So for this heinous series of crimes in Florida, the prosecutor's office announced in January of 2024 they would be seeking the death penalty against Hill. At a news conference announcing this update, Shakira's sister was given a chance to speak

on behalf of the family. We stand here vulnerable and open to share that it's been difficult for our family during this time. It's been a very emotional roller coaster. We've been angry. We've been sad. Very confused. It's just an indescribable pain that we feel with what's going on with what happened with Shakira Rucker.

We'll never have the chance to talk to her again. We'll never have the chance to spend any time. Her children will never be able to see her again. It's hard. It's hard. She was overcome with emotion, really couldn't continue, so her brother finished things up. I know that we as a family are moving forward. I know that today's decision may not bring my sister back, but it's a step in the direction for justice.

As a person of faith, I pray for everybody involved in that God put a head of heads of protection over their hearts, their minds, their souls. Now, since Hill's arrest in November of 2023, he's been locked up without bail. This court case has crawled along towards trial, and I want to talk about an interesting motion that was filed by the defense that said all of the storage unit evidence should be suppressed. So the court document reads that the body of Shakira Rucker was found in the storage unit. Police made several observations of the body in the storage unit. Although a search warrant was later obtained for the storage unit, it appears that the items found within were removed prior to the service of search warrant. Even if that were not the case, the warrant is premised upon facts discovered in the initial warrantless entry.

It continues, police are permitted to enter a premises to respond to an emergency situation without a warrant so long as there is no accompanying intent to search or investigate. In this case, police had no intention of rendering aid or responding to an emergency. They responded with an intent to investigate and did so without a warrant. For that reason, the search of the storage unit should be suppressed. standard defense argument, violation of a defendant's Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. But the prosecution pushed back, saying the deputies had permission from the property manager to enter the unit, which is laid out in the rental agreement. Quote, law enforcement's initial viewing of an entry into the subject storage unit was done

with the permission of the unit's owner. This matter is governed by a rental agreement that the defendant entered with storage units properties. Paragraph 12 of the rental agreement states, owner's right to enter in cases where the owner considers it necessary to enter the space for purposes of examining the space for violations of this agreement or conditions in the space or for making repairs or alterations there too or to otherwise comply with this agreement, the occupant agrees that the owner or the owner's representative shall have the right without notice to enter into the space and to remove contents to another space and continue to store such contents at the sole cost and expense of the occupant. The prosecutor

also notes law enforcement was acting in their role as community caretakers in opening the subject storage unit in order to determine if there was in fact a deceased human being inside prior to obtaining a search warrant. And in the end, the judge sided with the prosecution, basically saying there were exigent circumstances that allowed the deputies to open the unit so that motion to suppress by the defense was denied. And for now, the case seems to be on track to go to trial sometime in 2026 with monthly check-ins with the court between now and then. But let me just go back to Shakira for a moment. So Shakira Rucker's family started a GoFundMe to raise money for Shakira's four children.

On the go-fund me page, Shakira's sister, Leona, wrote, It is with heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the tragic loss of our beloved Shakira. She was a loving mother to four beautiful children and a victim of senseless violence. Shakira was murdered by her husband and left lifeless in a storage unit for six days. Her family went on a manhunt to locate her. However, a citizen located her first. This was unexpected and has taken a major toll on her children. This is not for burial services.

This is strictly for the kids' future. According to the GoFundMe, Shakira's then 18-year-old son was taking over the care of his younger siblings. So it's a really, really sad situation. Put up the GoFundMe page, our hearts and prayers go out to the family, and we will keep a careful eye on updates in this case. Bring them to you as they develop. But that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next day.