Kriti Mehrotra
When a young woman named Lori Ann Slesinski suddenly disappeared from her trailer home in Auburn, Alabama, without a trace left behind on June 10, 2006, it left all her loved ones in shock. Not only did they fear for the recent college graduate’s well-being, but they also grew to suspect one another for years, that is, until her assailant was finally brought to justice in 2022. As explored in Investigation Discovery’s ‘A Killer Among Friends: Strike to Kill,’ she was indeed murdered at the hands of someone she once trusted, and her remains have sadly never been found.
Lori Slesinski Was a Bright Individual Looking Forward to Her Future
Born on September 21, 1981, in New York to Arlene Slesiski and Casimir “Casey” Slesinski Jr., as one of their two kids, Lori Ann Slesinski was reportedly raised in a caring, loving, supportive home. It’s thus no surprise that both she and her brother, Paul Slesinski, grew up fostering confidence, empathy, kindness, trust, and understanding as their core values in everyday life. She obviously carried these into adulthood, helping her throughout her journey toward earning a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology & Psychology from Auburn University in the summer of 2006.
Lori subsequently began working at the East Alabama Mental Health Center under a day program to help people with intellectual disabilities, all the while preparing to pursue her Master’s degree. According to all accounts, she was a bubbly young woman with a big smile and an even bigger heart, which made her rather popular not only in her friend group but also in the local community. The usual hangout spot for her group was a bowling alley where several of them were employed, but on June 10, 2006, it was different: she had a girls’ night scheduled at Lindsay Braun’s home.
Lori Slesinski Was Allegedly Strangled to Death in Her Own Home
Lori had called her close friend and co-worker, Lindsay, at 3 pm to let her know she would stop by the store to get some supplies before making her way over, only to call again around 6:30 or 7 pm. However, the phone rang only once this time before suddenly cutting off, and the 24-year-old did not pick up when she was called back on either her landline or her cell phone mere moments later. Lori had reportedly long stated her best friend back home was due to have her baby any day, so Lindsay just assumed there was an emergency when she didn’t show up for their girls’ night.
Things changed drastically 2 days later when Lori also failed to come to work without prior notice, which was extremely uncharacteristic of her; that’s when Lindsay started worrying about her. Therefore, since she was a no-show the next day as well, a couple of colleagues contacted her mother to let her know what was going on, then drove to her home to see if everything was okay. Arlene Slesinski also coordinated to meet them there that same evening of June 13, only to find no sign of her daughter. What Lori’s loved ones did notice was that her rugs were missing from the kitchen, there was a reddish-brown mark on the wall near her front door, and her cell and car were not at the scene.
The most shocking aspect for them, though, was that her beloved dog Peanut was in her crate – they claimed the young woman adored her pet, so she never would have willingly left her behind. Then, with her landline also disconnected and its cord missing, their worries grew into fear, and they filed a missing persons report. An extensive investigation and search for Lori subsequently began, with it immediately picking up traction as her car was found engulfed in flames on a cul-de-sac at around 4:40 am on June 14. That’s when officials also came to suspect foul play, yet neither the missing person nor her remains have ever been located. Nevertheless, owing to a crucial witness statement, prosecutors argued at trial that she was strangled to death inside her trailer home on June 10.
The Investigation Into Lori Slesinski’s Case Went Cold Within Months
It was not long after Lori was formally reported missing on June 13 that authorities questioned those closest to her, with Lindsay admitting she was arguably among the last people to speak to her. Her claims about what they had discussed were seemingly backed by Walmart surveillance footage, so she was taken seriously when she said her friend was not alone at home on the fateful day. According to her statements, she had heard Derrill Richard “Rick” Ennis in the background during her call with the 24-year-old at 3 pm, but it wasn’t unusual since they were all friends. Rick admitted as much when he was questioned mere hours later, but he also vehemently maintained that he had no hand in the disappearance.
However, as per the ID show, Rick did appear to provide detectives with a lead when he claimed Lori planned to deal a large quantity of marijuana before going to Lindsay’s home for girls’ night. Her loved ones later refuted his allegations, asserting that she would never have involved herself in such a situation. A search of her home and her belongings also provided no evidence of the same, leaving officials with more questions than answers. Therefore, when her vehicle was found ablaze at around 4:40 am on June 14, less than 24 hours after she was reported missing, they came to believe the case was actually a possible homicide.
That’s especially because the fire was ascertained to be deliberate to destroy any evidence that may have been inside, yet investigators were also able to confirm no human remains were involved. In the days to follow, investigators theorized that the accelerant used to burn Lori’s car came from a missing gas can from the nearby bowling alley, where some of her friends worked. That’s when one of the employees came forward and revealed that around June 8, Rick had called to ask if they could bring one of the gas cans to him because he needed extra fuel for his car. They added that he then asked them to leave the can behind, which they found a little strange, so they outright refused. The suspicions thus shifted to Rick.
A Mountain of Evidence Led Authorities to Lori Slesinski’s Killer
Owing to Rick’s statements about Lori allegedly being involved with drugs, the gas can issue, and his likely being the last person to see her alive, a search warrant was executed on his home/car. Officials seized a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, a knife, cleaning supplies, and several additional items that implicated him on a circumstantial level. He had fresh scratch marks on his arms that investigators found highly suspicious, yet he wasn’t charged with any crime at the time due to the lack of a motive and no remains. In the end, he moved away from Auburn within weeks of Lori’s disappearance, and her case grew cold despite him being considered the prime suspect. It was over a decade later, in 2016, that the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation’s new cold case unit took on the matter once again.
After reviewing all the evidence, the new investigators reached the same conclusion as the previous ones about Rick being the prime suspect, but they also found 2 additional pieces of evidence. They realized that the traces recovered from the reddish-brown stain near Lori’s front door and the hand-rolled cigarette butt collected from near her burned car were never sent for forensic analysis. So, one of the first things they did was send them for testing, all the while looking more deeply into Rick’s personal life and his connection with Lori. While he had always maintained they were friends, he actually liked her and once even wrote her an 18-page letter expressing his feelings, but she didn’t feel the same.
Thus, when the forensic reports revealed that the reddish-brown stain was Rick’s blood and the cigarette butt had his DNA all over it, officials finally had enough physical evidence to tie him to Lori’s case. As if that’s not enough, by this point, his former roommate had also turned in 3 small rugs to investigators – rugs that were ascertained to be from Lori’s kitchen and had his blood on them. So, on August 6, 2018, he was arrested for Lori’s murder from his new base of Pilot, Virginia, following which a former co-worker contacted authorities to claim he had confessed to him years prior. Terry Booth stated Rick had told him at a bar one night that he left Auburn after he had to “get rid of” and “strangle a b****,” only for him to initially take it as a joke, but he now realizes it was serious.
Rick Ennis is Currently Incarcerated in an Alabama Correctional Facility
Rick Ennis stood trial in 2022 on the charges against him, during which he testified in his own defense and maintained his innocence at every step. He stated he had no idea why his blood/DNA was inside Lori’s home or her front door, but he admitted to once having written her an 18-page love note because he liked her. He then asserted they were intimate before explaining away the rugs by claiming he bought them at Target and his arm scratches by blaming his dog. Meanwhile, the prosecution argued that he killed Lori in a fit of rage after she rejected his romantic advances, following which he disposed of her remains (which have never been found) and cleaned the crime scene/her trailer home.
In the form of evidence, the prosecution presented the blood stains, the DNA, and the semen on Lori’s bedsheets that matched Rick’s, before also asking Terry Booth to testify. Hence, he was found guilty of Lori’s murder after two days of jury deliberations and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 14, 2022. He has since filed appeals against his conviction, but they have all been denied. So, today, at the age of 46, he is incarcerated at the medium-security William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in unincorporated Jefferson County, Alabama. We should also mention that Rick confessed to killing his mother and stepfather at the tender age of 12, as a result of which he was detained in a juvenile facility until he was 21.
