MIDLOTHIAN, Ill. - An Illinois man has been arrested and charged in connection with the 2020 case involving the alleged sexual assault, strangulation, and burning of a 22-year-old suburban woman.

Dakota Petrey, 30, of Lewistown, Illinois, has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault in the killing of Vanessa Ceja Ramirez.

Ceja Ramirez, 22, of Harvey, disappeared on Nov. 2, 2020, while walking in the Midlothian Meadows Forest Preserve.

Her body was found two days later, partially burned and bearing evidence of strangulation and sexual assault.

The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.

Sheriff’s police linked Petrey to the crime following an extensive investigation involving dozens of search warrants and DNA evidence recovered from Ceja Ramirez and the crime scene.

At the time of her disappearance, Petrey lived in an Oak Forest apartment building where the victim’s cell phone was last tracked. The sheriff's office also noted that Petrey was known to frequent Midlothian Meadows.

Authorities say there is no evidence to suggest Petrey and Ceja Ramirez knew each other.

An arrest warrant was issued for Petrey on Jan. 16, and he was taken into custody on Jan. 18, after he was released from the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown where he had been held since Oct. 7, 2024, on unrelated charges.

The following events led to the arrest of Petrey.

"This heinous crime is every parent’s worst nightmare," Sheriff Dart said. "It took years of tireless work by our police detectives to investigate this case, but we never gave up on finding Vanessa’s killer and seeking justice for her and her family."

Petrey made his first court appearance on Sunday, where he was ordered detained pending trial.

The investigation remains ongoing.

The Source: Information from this article was obtained by the Cook County Sheriff's Department along with previous coverage from the victim's family.