Elias Abuelazam, Alleged Serial Stabber, Likely to be Charged with Murder This Week
DETROIT (CBS/AP) Israeli native Elias Abuelazam, the man suspected in a series of stabbings in Michigan and two other states, will likely be charged with murder this week, according to his lawyer.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said he would hold a news conference on Monday to announce new charges against Abuelazam.
Abuelazam's lawyer, Brian Morley, told The Associated Press Friday that he understands the case against his client will greatly expand to include at least one murder charge and three to four charges of assault with intent to murder.
"I've been anticipating additional charges," Morley said. "Now that they're here, I want to look at the police reports and figure out what we're facing and what defenses are available."
Fourteen males were stabbed - five fatally - in a series of attacks between spring and early August in the Flint area, about 60 miles north of Detroit.
So far, Abuelazam is charged in just one case, the attempted murder of a 26-year-old man. He was arrested on Aug. 11 while trying to travel to Israel, and is being held in the Genesee County, Mich. jail.
Abuelazam, 33, also is a suspect in two stabbings and a hammer attack in Virginia and a stabbing in Ohio. He has not been charged in either state.
The victims in Michigan, Ohio and Virginia were males, ages 15 to 67. Most were black, but investigators don't know whether race was a motive.
Abuelazam didn't spend much time in Flint, where this year he moved into a house owned by an uncle. He was working at a convenience store until Aug. 1 when he told co-workers that he was off to Virginia.
Abuelazam, who grew up in Israel in a small Arab Christian community in Ramle, had previously lived in the Leesburg, Va., area.
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