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Uber Eats driver killed and dismembered whilst making final delivery of the day
Published 11:46 26 Apr 2023 BST
Updated 11:46 26 Apr 2023 BST
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A 'demonic' man has been arrested and charged with the murder of an Uber Eats delivery driver.
Oscar Solis Jr., 30, is charged with killing Randall Cooke, 59, during a delivery on April 16 at a home in Holiday, Florida, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a news conference.
Cooke drove to the assailant's house in what was his final delivery of the night, when he was brutally killed and dismembered.
His remains and wedding ring were found at the suspect's home in trash bags and a cooler, which also contained a receipt with Sollis' name on it.
Sheriff Nocco said: “This is just a gruesome case. This is horrible. This person just yanked him in and killed him."
Cooke had dropped off his wife at home before going out to make deliveries. At 18:43, he text her to say he was making his last delivery and would be home soon.
But when he never came back, his wife called the police who sent out patrol officers to look for him.
When they were unable to find Cooke, the case was transferred to the missing-persons unit, which contacted Uber Eats and got coordinates of his last stop.
On April 20, detectives went to the address, but no one was home. The following day, they returned and Solis' roommate was home.
He gave police access to security video, which showed Cooke approaching the house before the feed cut out.
The video showed Solis carrying trash bags out to the side of the house the next day.
When detectives searched these bags, they found the Uber Eats driver's body parts. Cooke's wallet and a key fob belonging to him were also found at the property, on top of a dresser.
Sheriff Nocco told the press: “I kept asking what’s the connection? This was absolutely a horrific crime of passion. This is demonic. What he did was demonic.
“But at the same time, we couldn’t answer the question: ‘Why?’
"All that appears is there was a gentleman who was working, he was doing his last delivery for the night, and this person killed him.”
Solis faces charges of murder while engaged in a robbery, failure to register as a convicted felon and for a parole violation, jail records show. He is a member of the violent MS-13 gang with a history of violent crimes, and had served time behind bars in Indiana.
It does not appear Solis knew Cooke.
Cooke was a graphic designer by trade but wrote on social media last month that he was looking for work.
His step-daughter, Brittany Dzoba, told Fox35 that he had taken up a gig delivering food so that the family could remain living by the sea.
"I love my mom to death and I hate to see her like this. I just want her to be happy. I don’t want her to be alone. Just knowing that she has to come home every day to her husband not there. They shared so many amazing memories together,' she told the station.
Police are still looking for two young people who were seen leaving the home about an hour before the homicide. Solis was a gamer, and they may have been there to play games with him.
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