Murder, New Assault Charges In Serial Stabbings
A man suspected in a series of stabbings in Michigan and two other states has been arraigned on four new counts of attempted murder and one open murder.
The 33-year old Elias Abuelazam appeared in court Monday via video from the Genesee County jail.
The murder charge and three attempted murder charges were presented in 68th District Court in Flint; the other charge was heard in Genesee Township District Court.
Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf. Abuelazam faces life in prison without parole on the murder count.
One of the surviving victims, 17-year old said Etwan Wilson, was in court for the arraignment.
Wilson told WWJ's Florence Walton he feels better knowing that the man he says attacked him has been charged, "I gotta move forward, and hope he gets convicted and gets what he deserves," Wilson said.
"You all just see him on TV, but I see him in my head every day. I know the guy who stabbed me, one hundred percent positive," he said.
Abuelazam is in custody in the Genesee County Jail, having already been charged with one count of assault with intent to murder in connection to the July 27th stabbing of a 26-year-old Flint man. Abuelazam also is a suspect in attacks in Virginia and Ohio.
He was arrested at an Atlanta airport on Aug. 11 while trying to travel to Israel, his native country, and is being held in the county jail.
Abuelazam "terrorized our citizens,'' said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, announcing the new charges Monday.
"We've got the guy responsible for these crimes. ... We will convict him. We will lock him up for the rest of his life. His victims deserve nothing less.''
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Abuelazam's lawyer, Brian Morley, said the new charges were expected and he's already received some evidence from authorities.
The charge of open murder gives Leyton the option to later amend it as the case proceeds to first-degree murder or murder committed during another felony.
Surveillance video from a nearby convenience store showed Abuelazam's green vehicle in the area at the time of the Aug. 2 slaying of Arnold Minor, Leyton said. Authorities later matched Minor's DNA to blood in the vehicle, he said.
"He's going to have a hard time explaining that,'' Leyton said of Abuelazam.
Five men died and nine were injured during a series of stabbings in the Flint area from May to early August. Abuelazam also is a suspect in two stabbings and a hammer attack in Virginia and a stabbing in Ohio.
In explaining the four new attempted-murder charges, Leyton said there was a common thread: The victims were asked for help or directions before being attacked.
"We suspect that he was preying on vulnerable, African-American men, cruising the areas of the city of Flint and the surrounding suburbs where he might find such individuals and try to take their lives and destroy them,'' the prosecutor said.
Flint Police Chief Alvern Lock believes that a fear of helping strangers has ebbed since Abuelazam's arrest but not completely.
People "have to use their best judgment. They need to be careful,'' Lock said.
Copyright, 2010. WWJ Newsradio 950, All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
