A Texas truck driver accused of killing a professional model will be returned to Pennsylvania to face charges for his crimes committed in the state.
28-year-old Tracy Ray Rollins Jr. is scheduled to fly back to Union County on Tuesday, February 23rd to face charges after the murder of 47-year-old model Rebecca Landrith several weeks ago.
According to Penn Live, Landrith was found by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on February 7th just before 7 a.m. along the Interstate 80 exit ramp at the Mile Run interchange near Loganton. State police say she has multiple gunshot wounds to her face, neck, and chest, plus two on her hands that officers believe were “defensive.” A total of 18 bullets were removed from her body during a subsequent autopsy.
Upon being interrogated, Rollins started by telling officers “I hate to start lying to you cause this is a murder investigation,” but at that point he had not been advised or given information that their investigation was surrounding a murder.
Rollins then told officers that he had met a woman who had called herself “Leslie” at a truck stop near Milford, Connecticut, and that she had been traveling with him. The two traveled to Maine, back to Connecticut, New York, then all the way to Wisconsin to pick up a load for delivery in Maine. Officials believe that it was sometime during that last delivery that Rollins killed Landrith.
Although Landrith’s body had no identification at the time it was discovered, officers were able to find a note listing Rollins’ name, telephone number, and email address in one of her pockets. That information allowed officers to use Rollins’ cell phone records to trace his travel from Wisconsin to Maine, pinpointing his stop at the Mile Run interchange from 12:11 a.m. to 12:26 a.m. on February 6th, and a pass through the Loganton interchange at around the same time on February 5th, just one and two days before Landrith’s body was discovered there.
Following the discovery of “brain and flesh-like material” in the cab of Rollins’ truck, along with the presence of bullet holes and leftover casings, police believe the actual murder ocurred in the cab of Rollins’ truck, and he later dumped the body at the roadside location.
Although there have been several social media posts inferring that Landrith was to blame for her own situation because she had been willingly “running around with truckers,” officers say that position has no influence on the investigation, noting that Landrith is a victim of homicide and should be treated as such.
Landrith was a professional model, Miss Manhattan finalist in 2014, an accomplished violinist, and an advocate for multiple charities. She has since been cremated and her family plans to have a funeral in the future.
Rollins will appear before a judge in Mifflinburg on charges of homicide and abuse of a corpse.