The Dane County Sheriff’s office has arrested and charged two suspects for the murder of Jacob Payne, who was found in Lake Mendota.
The two suspects, Rudy Alberto Ramirez-Millan and Juan Aguilar-Vargas, are in custody on charges of 1st degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse.
Ramirez-Millan, 27, has been in custody since April 12 for drug charges unrelated to the homicide investigation. Aguilar-Vargas has been in custody since April 14, Chief Deputy Jeff Hook said in a news conference Wednesday.
A canoeist found Payne’s body in Lake Mendota on April 11 around 4 p.m. The body was found near Governor’s Island.
Payne’s last known contact was just after midnight on April 7. This information was determined through communication with the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, with whom Jacob Payne had been in contact. Payne had been updating DCI on alleged drug dealing by Ramirez-Millan, Hook said.
“Although Mr. Payne was proving information to DCI agents, it does not currently appear that either subject was aware of this, and does not appear to be a factor in the homicide,” Hook said.
Ramirez-Millan rented an auto repair garage on Acker Road, which was allegedly where the confrontation resulting in the homicide occurred. Ramirez-Millan, after previously allowing Payne to reside in his black BMW on the Acker Road property, demanded that he stop living at that location, Hook said.
During the resulting confrontation, Ramirez-Millan and Aguilar-Vargas allegedly stabbed Payne multiple times. Wounds on Ramirez-Millan’s hands at the time of the arrest were consistent with knife wounds that could have occurred during this attack, Hook said.
Police believe that Ramirez-Millan and Aguilar-Vargas then transported Payne’s body to Lake Mendota in Ramirez-Millan’s gray Ford F-150 truck. Payne’s body was weighted down with chains and a steel I-bean, and placed in the lake where it was recovered, Hook said.
Ramirez-Millan and Aguilar-Vargas allegedly returned to the Acker Road property, where remaining evidence was disposed of, including Payne’s personal belongings.
“We will always follow through on every lead that we get of criminal activity during any investigation, this one included,” Hook said. “We are not taking it for granted that we know everything, or that we have brought this to resolution yet. We still have a lot of investigative work to do.”
The sheriff’s office is asking the public for help in the recovery of Payne’s athletic shoes, which could serve as further evidence. The athletic shoes may be located in or around the lake, Hook said.
Additionally, any member of the public who saw a gray Ford F-150 pick-up truck Monday night, April 6 or Tuesday morning, April 7 around Mendota Mental Institute or Governor’s Island is encouraged to call the sheriff office’s tip line at 608-284-6900.
