Elias Abuelazam

Case details

Elias Abuelazam (born August 28, 1976) was an Israeli convicted murderer and suspect of racial serial killing and multiple stabbings.

Background

Abuelazam had Israeli citizenship. He was born in central Israel and grew up in a well-to-do Christian Arab family in the city of Ramla, Israel.

He later moved to the United States having acquired a green card; he was not an American citizen. According to the US State Department, Elias Abuelazam changed his name to Elias Abullazam in March 1995.

Until 2008, Abuelazam worked at Piedmont Behavioral Health Center, LLC, a psychiatric facility in Leesburg, Virginia (now called North Spring Behavioral Healthcare) as a mental health technician.

He worked as a clerk at Kingwater Market in Beecher, Michigan from July 5 to August 1, 2010. 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, Michigan.

Abuelazam’s legal address was in Bradenton, Florida, according to the warrant. He previously lived in Grand Blanc, Michigan, according to Michigan Secretary of State records. He most recently lived in a house that his uncle owned located on Maryland Avenue near Riegle Avenue on the east side of Flint, Michigan.

Abuelazam married Jessica Hirth (also known as Jessica Nimitz and Jessica Abuelazam) 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, and said she was shocked and that Abuelazam was a "nice" person. His former father-in-law Jim Hirth said he was shocked, too. In an August 2010 interview, Jim Hirth said that Abuelazam verbally abused his daughter.

Abuelazam and Jessica divorced in 2007. In total, he was married twice. His ex-wife Jessica of Arlington, Texas, said that she was "shocked" at the news of his crimes.

The offence

Police and prosecutors claimed Abuelazam would drive around late at night, approach men who were walking alone, ask for directions or help fixing his vehicle, and then stab them. Abuelazam’s alleged victims were described as "small framed" (e.g. short, thin, non-muscular) men, most of them African Americans.

During the investigation, Michigan media dubbed him "The Genesee County Serial Slasher" (or alternately "The Genesee County Serial Stabber").

Abuelazam was suspected in a string of 18 stabbing attacks in the spring and summer of 2010 which resulted in five deaths. Most of the attacks occurred in Genesee County, Michigan (particularly in and around Flint). Four stabbings occurred outside of Michigan: three in Leesburg, Virginia and another in Toledo, Ohio.

Abuelazam was also suspected in an unsolved March 2009 homicide in Leesburg.

Abuelazam was 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.

Genesee County prosecutors declined to speculate on his motive. Police in Leesburg suspected the attacks may have been racially motivated.

Investigation

In Genesee County, the announcement that a string of stabbings in the Flint area that date back to May was the work of one man came on August 4, 2010.

On August 9, police in Leesburg connected three stabbings there via their victims' descriptions of the suspect, his vehicle and his mode of operation. That same day a multi-jurisdictional full time task force was set up in Genesee County.

On August 10, authorities learned he had hopped on a plane from Detroit to Louisville to Atlanta and was minutes away from boarding a plane to his native Israel.

The next day Toledo Police claimed a stabbing there also matched the suspect.

A hotline tip led to a big break in the case, with investigators saying it involved information about the vehicle description and who drove it.

Arrest

First arrest: Abuelazam was arrested August 5 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.

Second arrest and extradition: Abuelazam was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on August 11 at 10:00 p.m. ET in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while preparing to board a Delta Airlines flight bound for Tel Aviv. On August 13 he waived his right to fight extradition to Michigan.

Abuelazam’s family hired Lansing based attorneys Brian Morley and Edwar Zeineh. He was flown to Flint on August 26 and lodged in the Genesee County Jail.

He was held in solitary confinement, likely for his safety and because he was suspected of extremely violent crimes. At his arraignment, he was ordered held without bond by the judge, even after the prosecutor asked for $10 million bail.

Trial

Arnold Minor murder case

During an evidentiary hearing for the Arnold Minor murder case, the judge ruled that evidence of the other Genesee County attacks could be used in the trial.

The trial began on May 8, 2012. The prosecution’s key piece of evidence was Minor's blood on a pair of pants found in Abeulezam's luggage.

On May 15, the prosecution rested after calling 50 witnesses, including other victims and their relatives, several forensic experts, and Abuelazam's uncle who assisted police in his capture.

On May 17, Abuelazam's attorneys presented an insanity defense. Their sole witness was a psychiatrist hired by his attorneys who diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia and said Abuelazam told him he committed the crimes because of "evil spirits."

The doctor also said Abuelazam told him he attempted suicide in 1997 and was diagnosed as psychotic by an Israeli psychologist in 2009.

The prosecution responded by attacking the psychiatrist's credibility, noting that his field of expertise is drug and alcohol addiction treatment.

On May 18, the prosecution refuted the psychiatrist's diagnosis with two of their own mental health experts. Two psychologists who testified on behalf of the prosecution agreed that although Abuelazam has an unspecified personality disorder and he lacked empathy, his attacks were too planned out and organized for him to be considered legally insane.

On May 22, 2012, after only an hour of deliberation, the jury found Abuelazam guilty of Minor's murder.

Evidence and testimony described in reporting

In trial coverage, the evidence included Minor's blood found on the steering wheel and floor of Abuelazam's Chevy Blazer, a blood source description involving Minor's blood in Abuelazam’s vehicle, and testimony from surviving victims who identified Abuelazam as his attacker. The reporting also stated that the survivors described that Abuelazam asked for directions or help with his vehicle before attacking them.

“When you look at all these crimes, look at all the characteristics,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. “It leads to one thing. It was planned. It was thought out. It was premeditated.”

In closing arguments and rebuttal described in coverage, defense described Abuelazam as paranoid schizophrenic and under the spell of demons that forced him to stab and kill, while prosecutors rebutted those claims with experts.

“Our client has a serious mental illness that caused him not to appreciate his acts,” said Zeineh. “You have to come back with not guilty by mental insanity.”

“His findings are incomplete, at best.”

Sentencing

On June 25, 2012, Abuelazam was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Michigan offered no parole to people convicted of first-degree murder, so Abuelazam was to be locked up until he died unless he won an appeal.

Charges

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.

On September 20, 2010, he was charged with 4 additional counts of assault to commit murder. The victims in those crimes were: Bill Fisher, attacked June 26, 2010; Richard Booker, attacked July 19, 2010 in Genesee Township, Michigan; Etwan Wilson, attacked August 1, 2010 near Pierson Road; and Da'Von Rawls.

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, Ohio.

On October 21, 2010, he was charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of Frank Kellybrew and Darwin Marshall of Flint, Michigan.

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.

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.

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, Michigan.

Outcome

After Abuelazam was convicted and sentenced for the Arnold Minor murder in Flint, Genesee County prosecutors announced Abuelazam would not stand trial for the other crimes in their jurisdiction, nor would authorities in Toledo or Leesburg try him. He was incarcerated at the Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan, inmate number 842658.

Genesee County prosecutors said he faced two more murder trials and six attempted murder trials in Michigan and an attempted murder case in Toledo, Ohio; they also said it was not clear whether prosecutors would pursue that many trials, and that prosecutors were open to plea deals after talking to victims and relatives of victims.

Other details

Victims and attack list described in reporting

May 24, 2010: David Motley, 31, was found dead around 6 a.m. near Leith and Dexter in Flint. Abuelazam had not been charged in this case.

June 21: Emmanuel Abdul Muhammad, 59, was found dead about 2 a.m. near Avenue B and Wood Street in Flint. Abuelazam had not been charged in this case either.

June 26: Bill Fisher, then 42, was attacked around 5:50 a.m. on Pierson Road near Clio. Abuelazam faced a charge of assault with intent to murder.

July 12: Antoine Jackson, then 29, was stabbed at around 1:30 a.m. near Saginaw Street and Maple Road in Burton.

July 19: Richard Booker was attacked about 12:15 a.m. near North Saginaw and Juliah Avenue in Genesee Township.

July 23: a 21-year-old man was stabbed about 5:45 a.m. on University Avenue near King Avenue. Abuelazam was not charged in this case.

July 26: Darwin Marshall, 43, was found stabbed to death about 1:25 a.m. on Garland Street near West Fifth Avenue. Abuelazam was charged with an open count of murder.

July 27: Antwoine Marshall, then 26, was attacked about 3 a.m. near Pierson and Fleming.

July 29: Davon Rawls, 20, was stabbed around 3:30