Body Found in Rural Lancaster County Identified as Missing Person Cecilia Perez from Omaha; Homicide Suspected.

The body discovered in rural Lancaster County on Tuesday has been identified as 34-year-old Cecilia Perez, a missing person from Omaha, according to Omaha police. The body was found near North 98th Street and Havelock Avenue by a group of men cleaning trees in a nearby field. The discovery was made around 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday.

At the time, the incident was deemed suspicious and was being investigated as a homicide by Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Houchin. However, there were no apparent cuts or gunshot wounds on the body. Perez had been reported missing in Omaha on Tuesday and was last spoken to on Saturday.

Following the discovery, investigators from the Omaha Police Department’s Homicide Unit conducted a follow-up investigation, which led to the arrest of 33-year-old Raymond Evans. He has been charged with felony murder and is currently in custody at the Douglas County Corrections.

In other news, a recent report has ranked the most dangerous cities in Nebraska based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents. The rankings are based on data from 2019, with violent crimes classified as murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Omaha topped the list with 6.13 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, followed by Big Island, Lincoln, North Plate, and Scottsbluff.

South Sioux City, with a population of 12,771, had 2.35 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, making it the sixth most dangerous city in Nebraska. Scottsbluff ranked fifth with 3.34 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, followed by North Plate with a rate of 3.75. Lincoln, the state’s capital, had a rate of 3.83, and Big Island had a rate of 4.55.

It is important to note that Boys Town, despite having the highest rate of 13.82 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, had a small population of 579 in 2019. This statistic can be misleading due to the small sample size.

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