Newly released bodycam video shows the capture of a suspected killer whose alleged violent crime spree left a trail of female victims in at least three states and has kicked off a custody battle between Maricopa County's conservative district attorney and her progressive counterpart in New York City.
Raad Almansoori's alleged path of destruction victimized women in Florida, New York and Arizona before police caught up with him.
"Raad Alamansoori was arrested by Scottsdale PD for driving a stolen vehicle related to a car jacking and stabbing in Surprise, AZ," police said in a statement. "It was later discovered that he had been involved in numerous violent crimes throughout the nation."
Now, he is the subject of an extradition fight between Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Maricopa County's Rachel Mitchell after the latter said she would fight efforts to send him back to New York until she handles her own case.
Almansoori allegedly sexually assaulted a Florida woman last year, threatened to kill her and stole her car when she locked herself in a bathroom and called 911. Although he was initially held without bail in Florida's Sumter County on the car theft charge, he was transferred to Orlando to face more serious charges, which prosecutors there dropped.
Then, he walked free on $2,500, went to New York and is accused of brutally killing Denisse Oleas-Arancibia in the SoHo 54 hotel, strangling her and crushing her head with an iron. Surveillance images appear to show him wearing her leggings as he leaves the scene.
From there, according to authorities, he made his way to Phoenix, where he allegedly stabbed a woman, stole her car and stabbed another woman at a suburban McDonald's.
Scottsdale police captured him in the stolen car after the city's Real Time Crime Center picked it up in a parking garage, bodycam video shows.
In Arizona, he faces two counts each of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted sexual assault – in addition to the carjacking charge.
John Kelly, a criminal profiler and psychoanalyst who has interviewed mass murderers, said Almansoori shows traits indicative of a "budding serial killer," including "disassociation" and an alleged tendency to harm women.
"It looks like he was on his way, was getting started, so it's a good thing they got him," he said.
Court records show Almansoori has prior charges in Arizona as well, including a 2018 conviction for aggravated assault.
