RICHMOND, Ind. — Police have arrested a man accused of killing a Fort Thomas resident and leaving her body under an overturned refrigerator in a vacant apartment in Richmond.

McCracken

        Shakir A. Smith, 27, who was described as a vagrant, was arrested Sunday and charged with murder in the bludgeoning death of Peggy Jo McCracken, 25, of Midway Court in Fort Thomas. Mr. Smith was being held Tuesday night at the Wayne County Jail on no bond.

        Richmond Police Detective Capt. William Shake said an investigation indicates that Ms. McCracken met Mr. Smith Thursday night at a Richmond bar and voluntarily left with him. She was in Indiana visiting the father of her children. Richmond is 65 miles north of Cincinnati on the Ohio-Indiana border.

        A maintenance man discovered Ms. McCracken's body Saturday afternoon in a vacant apartment on 10th Street in Richmond. Her legs were sticking out from under an overturned refrigerator and she was missing her shorts and sandals, according to police.

        An autopsy report indicated she most likely died Thursday of multiple blows to the head. Mr. Smith once lived at the apartment, according to police, and said that Ms. McCracken was staying at a home on the same street.

        Mr. Smith had admitted to being with Ms. McCracken, police said, but denied any involvement with her death.

        Capt. Shake, the lead detective in the case, said he had physical evidence linking Mr. Smith to the crime and that witnesses had seen the two leave the bar together.

        He would not discuss a possible motive, but said police were trying to determine if Mr. Smith is linked to two rapes that occurred within a few blocks of where Ms. McCracken's body was found.

        The funeral home handling arraignments in Richmond said Ms. McCracken leaves behind two children, Josh Durham Jr. and Savannah Durham.

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