SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The man accused of killing Emma Roark in Rancho Cordova appeared in court Tuesday.
Mikilo Rawls appeared in an orange jumpsuit and a blue surgical mask to be arraigned. He was assigned a public defender who requested the press be excluded from the court proceedings noting an image of Rawls had already been circulating in news coverage. The judge, acknowledged the rights of a free press and noted seeing Rawls would not taint the case.
Rawls did not enter a plea. He is being held without bail and is due back in court on May 20.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in this horrific case.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced the filing of criminal charges Monday in the killing of Roark.
The DA's office said in a statement Rawls allegedly killed Roark after sexually assaulting her. The charges include murder, rape, kidnap and sodomy.
Rawls was arrested Friday and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail.
Roark’s family confirmed to ABC10 that Roark was autistic and had gone for a walk in the middle of the day Thursday, Jan. 27, and never came home.
Police said it took four days of searching before they found her body. She was found in a secluded rural area with access to the American River on El Manto Drive.
Watch the livestream of the court appearance here.
