Homeless suspect in Emma Roark murder case makes first court appearance in Sacramento

The man accused in the death of 20-year-old Emma Roark made his first court appearance Tuesday at a hearing four days after his arrest on murder, rape and sodomy charges that could lead to a death penalty prosecution.

Mikilo Morgan Rawls, 37, made a brief appearance and spoke only to correct Sacramento Court Commissioner Ken Brody about the pronunciation of his first name (MI-KAI-LO).

Public defender John Buchholz asked Brody to remove media from the courtroom or to only allow the sole photographer present to shoot Rawls from the neck down.

Brody declined, citing the freedom of the press and the fact that Rawls’ mugshot has been widely circulated.

“His face has been seen in full color throughout Northern California and across the country,” Brody said. “In legal parlance, I think that horse has left the barn.”

Brody set the next hearing in the case for May 20.

Buchholz and fellow public defender Norm Dawson said after the hearing that they have received no discovery evidence in the case and that Buchholz had only been able to meet with Rawls for five minutes prior to the hearing.

Rawls, a homeless man who has lived along the American River Parkway for several years, is accused in the Jan. 27 slaying of Roark, a Rancho Cordova woman who lived with her parents and whose body was found Feb. 1 in an apparent homeless encampment.

Roark was found bound and strangled in a camp east of Ambassador Park within a brushy area under a tree.

Rawls, who has a lengthy criminal record that includes a 2017 burglary conviction, told detectives he had never seen the young woman before. He was tied to the slaying and sexual assault by DNA, court records state.

This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 4:02 PM.