| Elias Abuelazam | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Elias Abuelazam |
| Also known as | Elias Abullazam |
| Born | August 28, 1976 |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | Suspected in 18 attacks, resulting in 5 deaths. |
| Span of killings | March 2009–August 2010 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia |
| Date apprehended | August 11, 2010 |
Elias Abuelazam (born August 28, 1976) is an Israeli Arab suspect of racial[1] serial killing and multiple stabbings. He is suspected in killings and stabbings in Genesee County, Michigan, and stabbings in Leesburg, Virginia and Toledo, Ohio in the spring and summer of 2010; as well as a March 2009 homicide in Leesburg. Media has dubbed him "the serial slasher" (or alternately "the serial stabber").[2] Abuelazam was 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and weighed 280 pounds (130 kg) at the time of his booking.[3]
Contents |
Abuelazam was born in central Israel and has Israeli citizenship.[4][5][6] He grew up in a well-to-do Christian Arab family in the city of Ramla, Israel.[7] He later moved to the United States, having acquired a green card; however, he is not an American citizen. According to the US State Department, Elias Abuelazam changed his name to Elias Abullazam in March 1995.[8]
Abuelazam worked at a hospital in Leesburg, Virginia. He worked as a clerk at Kingwater Market in Beecher from July 5 to August 1. Most customers knew him as “Eli.” He was cited for giving alcohol to a minor July 29, the same day a 59-year-old man was stabbed in Flint. Abuelazam’s legal address is in Bradenton, Florida, according to the warrant. He previously lived in Grand Blanc, according to Michigan Secretary of State records. Abuelazam most recently lived in a house that his uncle owns located on Maryland Avenue near Riegle Avenue on the east side of Flint.[8]
Abuelazam married Jessica Hirth on July 30, 2004. His former mother-in-law, Kimberley Hirth, said her daughter and Abuelazam met in Texas while he was visiting cousins there. His former father-in-law claimed that he was abusive. They divorced in 2007. In total, he was married twice.[1]
Police and prosecutors claim that between May and August 2010, Abuelazam would drive around late at night, approach small framed men who were walking alone, ask for directions or help fixing his vehicle, and then stab them.[4] Abuelazam's alleged victims have been mostly black, and police in Leesburg suspect the attacks may have been racially motivated. Genesee County prosecutors, however, have declined to speculate on his motive.[9]
Abuelazam is also suspected of having stabbed a friend in the face with a screwdriver while on a visit to his family in Ramla, Israel in early 2010. Police did not pursue the case because the friend refused to press charges.[10]
Leesburg Police have said Abuelazam is also a suspect in an unsolved homicide from March 2009.[11]
In Genesee County on August 4, 2010, it was announced that a string of stabbings that date back to May 2010 was the work of one man and a multi-jurisdictional task force was set up to investigate.[12] The next week on August 9, 2010 police in Leesburg connected three stabbings there via their victims' descriptions of the suspect, his vehicle and his mode of operation.[13] The next day Toledo Police claimed a stabbing there also matched the suspect.[14]
He was arrested August 5, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia, during a traffic stop. He was taken into custody because he had a warrant out for his arrest for simple assault and later released on personal bond.[2]
Abuelazam was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on August 11, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. ET in Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, while preparing to board a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Tel Aviv.[8] On August 13, 2010 he waived his right to fight extradition to Michigan.[15] Abuelazam's family has hired Lansing based attorneys Brian Morley and Edwar Zeineh.[16] He was flown to Flint on August 26, 2010 and lodged in the Genesee County Jail.[17] Abuelazam is being held in solitary confinement, likely for his safety and because he is suspected of extremely violent crimes.[18] At his arraignment, he was ordered held without bond by the judge, even after the prosecutor asked for $10 million bail.
On August 26, 2010 the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office charged him with one count of assault with intent to commit murder for an attack on July 27, 2010.[2] On September 20, 2010 Abuelazam was charged with the murder of Arnold Minor, who was stabbed to death August 2, 2010 in Flint. Also on that date he was charged with 4 additional counts of assault to commit murder; the victims in those crimes are: Bill Fisher, who was attacked June 26, 2010; Richard Booker, who was attacked July 19, 2010 in Genesee Township; Etwan Wilson, who was attacked August 1, 2010 near Pierson Road; and Devon Rawls.[19] If convicted, he would likely face a sentence of at least life in prison without the possibility of parole.[20] On October 8, 2010 an Ohio grand jury indicted Abuelazam and charged him with felonious assault in the stabbing of church janitor Tony Leno in Toledo.[21] On October 21, 2010 he was charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of Frank Kellybrew and Darwin Marshall of Flint.[22] On November 4, 2010 he was charged with two counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer causing injury and three counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer after he attempted to punch a deputy and had to be Tasered with the help of four other officers on October 27. 2010[23] On November 12, 2010 he was charged with malicious destruction of property for smashing out the windows of a car belonging to James Augsberger, boyfriend of witness Lucinda Mann.[24] On November 23, 2010 he was charged with assault with intent to murder in the stabbing of Antoine Jackson on July 12, 2010 in Burton.[3] [25]
Jury selection for the trial for the murder of Arnold Minor in Genesee County will begin on February 7, 2012.[26] The judge has ruled that evidence of the other Genesee County attacks may be used in the Minor trial.[27]