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Flint Serial Killer: Police Search for Man Who's Killed Five; May Be Racially Motivated
Friday, August 13, 2010 at 11:54 am
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The attacks began in May, and they were launched with a basic formula. A man seeks out a lone man in the darkness of night, pretending to have car trouble or needing help with directions. When the victims get close enough, he starts stabbing them with a knife.
There have been 13 attacks like this in and around Flint, Michigan since May. Five people have died, with another eight injured. And all have a recurring motif.
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| Elias Abuelazam is believed responsible for 20 attacks in three states that left five dead |
Police say the stabbings indicate the psycho has a great deal of rage. But they're not sure if his attacks are racially motivated, or if he's simply happening upon black men, since Flint is a majority black city.
The murder of 60-year-old Frank Kellybrew is emblematic of the attacks. He'd been living at the Hometown Inn for the last 10 months when we walked across the freeway to buy some things at a gas station on July 30. He was found stabbed to death near a restaurant the next morning.
The psycho is described as white, in his late 20s to early 30s, roughly 5-11 to 6-feet-2 inches tall, and weighing 180 to 210 pounds.
UPDATE: The killer is believed responsible for more attacks in Virginia and Ohio.
The Flint serial killer appears to have gone mobile. Police believe he may be responsible for three more attacks in Leesburg, Virginia, then headed back west.
On Saturday night, a 59-year-old church janitor was taking a smoke break in Toledo when a white man approached him asking for directions. The man started stabbing him for no reason. The janitor was rushed to a hospital with a collapsed lung, but he said the assailant was driving a green 1990s Chevy Blazer, similar to the SUV used in the Michigan murders.
The douchebag's count is now up to 20 assaults in three states, including five murders in Flint. But detectives still aren't sure if he's singling out black men, or if they just happen to make convenient targets.
In Michigan, 14 of his 16 victims were black. The Toledo janitor was black, and two of the three victims in Virginia were black. The other was Hispanic. But because he's also identifying smaller, older or disabled men as targets, his victims could have been selected simply because they were easy to overpower.
They range in age from 17 to 60 years old, and two have had disabilities of some sort. He's also picking out victims who are walking alone at night.
Detectives aren't sure if he's returned to Michigan or not. But judging by the recent spate of assault -- four new victims in four days -- it doesn't look like the creep will be stopping until he's either arrested, or he runs into the wrong guy.
UPDATE II: Man arrested at Atlanta airport believed to be Flint serial killer.
Elias Abuelazam, 33, appears to be an Israeli citizen who'd recently been working at a liquor store in Flint. But he doesn't fit the usual image of the redneck racist. He worked for an Arab manager at the store, who said the man showed no signs of distaste when dealing with black customers.
Police say he was scheduled to board a flight to Tel Aviv last night when he was busted. They'd apparently identified him as the liquor store worker, and had been electronically tracking him through several states, presumably through his credit card usage.
UPDATE III: Elias Abuelazam was arrested twice during his killing spree, but officers didn't know they had a serial killer in custody.
Before he was finally nabbed at the Atlanta airport, Abuelazam had been pinched twice in the last month -- both times within hours of attacking people.
On August 5, he was arrested during a traffic stop in Arlington, Virginia after officers learned he had an outstanding warrant for assault -- though we don't have details on what that assault case involved. He had a knife and hammer in his truck at the time, but since they aren't illegal -- nor uncommon -- he was soon released. One of the attacks in Leesburg, Virginia happened just hours after he was released.
He was also busted in Michigan on July 29 for providing booze to a minor, but was only fined $125. He's believed to attacked another person that same day.
Police still aren't saying whether the assaults are racially motivated -- at least in Flint and Toledo. But Leesburg Police Chief Joseph Price believes they were. Since his city is majority white, he believes you'd have to go out of your way to attack two black guys and a Hispanic. "For our community ... when you look at our demographics and you look at the victims here, my belief is he selected the victims in Leesburg based on the color of their skin," he told CNN.
Toledo and Flint, by contrast, both have large black populations, meaning if you were attacking people randomly, there's a good chance the victim would be black.
See our last serial killer story: Vincent Smothers, Detroit Hitman, Killed 7 People, Including Police Sergeant's Wife.
Tags: Michigan
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