Crime Documentary - The Elias Abuelazam story
- 6 years ago
Viewer discretion is advised. Some may find this content disturbing. This is a documentary I found interesting.
Elias Abuelazam (born August 29, 1976) is an Israeli-Arab convicted murderer and suspect of racial serial killing and multiple stabbings. He is suspected in a string of 18 stabbing attacks in the spring and summer of 2010 which resulted in 5 deaths. Most of the alleged attacks occurred in Genesee County, Michigan (particularly in and around Flint). 5 stabbings occurred outside of Michigan: 3 in Leesburg, Virginia and another in Toledo, Ohio and one in his native home in Ramla, Israel. All of 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 Flint Serial Slasher" and "The Flint Serial Stabber". Abuelazam was 6ft5 (1.96 m) and weighed 280 pounds (130 kg) at the time of his booking. Abuelazam has been convicted in one of the murders, that of 49-year-old Arnold Minor in Flint, Michigan which occurred on August 2, 2010. He is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for that crime. As a result, Genesee County prosecutors have announced Abuelazam will not stand trial for the other crimes in their jurisdiction, nor will authorities in Toledo or Leesburg try him. He is currently incarcerated at Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights, Michigan.
On May 2, 2017, Abuelazam confessed to a 2009 Leesburg, Virginia murder.
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, a green-colored Chevrolet TrailBlazer, and then stab them, usually in the chest or stomach. Abuelazam's alleged victims have been mostly black, and police in Leesburg suspect the attacks may have been racially motivated, since the population there is mostly white. Genesee County prosecutors, however, have declined to speculate on his motive, while noting the population of Flint is mostly black.
Abuelazam is also suspected of having stabbed a friend in the face with a screwdriver while on a visit to his family in Ramla in early 2010. Police did not pursue the case because the friend refused to press charges.
Leesburg Police have said Abuelazam is also a suspect in an unsolved homicide from March 2009.
During the 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 a drop of 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, as well as Abuelazam's uncle who assisted police in his capture.
Elias Abuelazam (born August 29, 1976) is an Israeli-Arab convicted murderer and suspect of racial serial killing and multiple stabbings. He is suspected in a string of 18 stabbing attacks in the spring and summer of 2010 which resulted in 5 deaths. Most of the alleged attacks occurred in Genesee County, Michigan (particularly in and around Flint). 5 stabbings occurred outside of Michigan: 3 in Leesburg, Virginia and another in Toledo, Ohio and one in his native home in Ramla, Israel. All of 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 Flint Serial Slasher" and "The Flint Serial Stabber". Abuelazam was 6ft5 (1.96 m) and weighed 280 pounds (130 kg) at the time of his booking. Abuelazam has been convicted in one of the murders, that of 49-year-old Arnold Minor in Flint, Michigan which occurred on August 2, 2010. He is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for that crime. As a result, Genesee County prosecutors have announced Abuelazam will not stand trial for the other crimes in their jurisdiction, nor will authorities in Toledo or Leesburg try him. He is currently incarcerated at Earnest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights, Michigan.
On May 2, 2017, Abuelazam confessed to a 2009 Leesburg, Virginia murder.
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, a green-colored Chevrolet TrailBlazer, and then stab them, usually in the chest or stomach. Abuelazam's alleged victims have been mostly black, and police in Leesburg suspect the attacks may have been racially motivated, since the population there is mostly white. Genesee County prosecutors, however, have declined to speculate on his motive, while noting the population of Flint is mostly black.
Abuelazam is also suspected of having stabbed a friend in the face with a screwdriver while on a visit to his family in Ramla in early 2010. Police did not pursue the case because the friend refused to press charges.
Leesburg Police have said Abuelazam is also a suspect in an unsolved homicide from March 2009.
During the 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 a drop of 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, as well as Abuelazam's uncle who assisted police in his capture.