A suspect has been arrested for allegedly killing a Nebraska teenager who was in Arizona celebrating his high school graduation.
Anthonie Ruinard, 37, was arrested last week in connection to the death of 18-year-old Parker League, whose body was found on June 12 in the remote Bulldog Canyon in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest, Fox 10 Phoenix reported. Police said that Ruinard was seen leaving a club with League on June 11. Surveillance also allegedly showed the man leaving a gas station in Chandler, Arizona.
“Video footage from an Arco gas station in Chandler, AZ on June 11th showed Parker and the suspect, Anthonie leaving the store together in a black Dodge Challenger,” the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said, according to Fox 10. “This was the last time detectives had Parker on video alive.”
When police searched Ruinard’s home, they found evidence in the trunk of his car that contained League’s DNA, as well as $20,000 of cocaine and more than $6,700 of cocaine base.
Ruinard has been charged with first-degree murder, credit card theft and fraud, concealment of body parts, and various drug charges.
League’s brother, Hunter, previously told ABC15 about how the League family was suffering over the loss of Parker.
“It’s hard to accept because he was the nicest kid in the world,” League’s brother, Hunter, told the outlet. “I got a call from my dad telling me to come home. I asked him ‘why’ about three times and the third time he tried to explain it, he just started breaking down.”
Hunter told the outlet that League was two years younger but considered his brother his best friend. He said League had traveled to Tempe, Arizona, to visit friends.
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“I knew he had a place to stay; I knew he got there. We texted … that’s about it,” Hunter told the outlet.
League flew to Arizona on June 9. His last text to his brother was on June 10.
The teen’s family told ABC15 that they were not immediately informed that League’s body had been found, so they filed a missing persons report with the Tempe Police Department on June 15, three days after League’s flight had landed without him on board.
Hunter also told the outlet that his brother may have been targeted for his expensive watch. The family said they found two unusual transactions from League’s bank account.
“We basically found out that someone was using his debit card to get food and tried to pay their electric bill with it,” Hunter told the outlet.