Queens Mom's Killer Arrested In Arizona, Linked To Stabbings: NYPD
NEW YORK CITY — The suspected killer of a Queens mom found bludgeoned with an iron inside a SoHo hotel could be a serial attacker of women across the U.S., police said.
Raad Almansoori, 26, will be extradited to New York from Arizona — where he is behind bars on accusations he stabbed two women — to face charges in the death of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, NYPD officials said Tuesday.
Police said Almansoori not only linked himself to Oleas-Arancibia’s murder, but also three attacks against women in Florida — a reported confession that prompted NYPD officials to ask the public for help finding more potential victims of a serial attacker.
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“Anywhere that he’s visited, there’s potential that there’s other victims around the country,” said Kaz Daughtry, the NYPD’s chief of operations.
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The arrest significantly expands the investigation into the death of Oleas-Arancibia, a 38-year-old mother originally from Ecuador who lived in Jackson Heights, the New York Daily News first reported.
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Staff found Oleas-Arancibia dead Feb. 8 inside a room in the SoHo 54 Hotel on Watts Street, said Joseph Kenny, the NYPD’s chief of detectives.
A medical examiner found her cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head, Kenny said.
“A broken iron was recovered at the scene and (we) recovered bits of plastic that were found embedded inside her skull,” he said.
Police identified Almansoori as the suspect, in part from video footage that showed him walking outside the hotel in Oleas-Arancibia’s leggings, the Daily News reported.
Kenny said Almansoori took a Feb. 12 flight from Newark to Arizona, where he has family.
Authorities in Arizona have since linked Almansoori to two attacks against women, Kenny said.
The first unfolded Feb. 17 in Phoenix, in which Almansoori carjacked a woman at knifepoint and stabbed her, Kenny said. He said that Almansoori the next day dragged a woman who worked in a Surprise, Arizona, McDonald’s inside a bathroom and stabbed her.
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And those attacks aren’t the only violent crimes linked to Almansoori.
Kenny said Almansoori was arrested in Florida during April 2023 in connection to the kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman. He said Almansoori had posted bail and was released in that case.
Police in Scottsdale, Arizona arrested Almansoori in a stolen car after the McDonald’s attack, Kenny said.
“While in the custody of Arizona law enforcement, he informs them that he is wanted for homicide in New York City and tells the cops that they should Google ‘SoHo 54 Hotel,'” he said.
“We are also working with the FBI and their Violent Criminal Apprehension Program to explore the possibility of discovering additional victims, as the subject told Arizona cops that he hurt three additional girls in Florida.”
People with information can call 1-800-577-TIPS.
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