A multi-state manhunt for an alleged saga of violence has culminated in the arrest of Raad Almansoori, 26, accused of multiple stabbings in Arizona and a brutal murder in New York City. Almansoori, who has a checkered past including arrests for kidnapping and sexual assault, stands at the heart of an interstate criminal investigation, with accusations spanning from Arizona to New York.
On February 21, law enforcement officials detailed Almansoori's violent spree, stating he attacked an 18-year-old McDonald's employee, identified by family members as Madison, in Surprise, Arizona, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The woman survived but required surgery after the stabbing incident on February 18. Officials also linked Almansoori to another stabbing the previous day in Phoenix, and the murder of 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia in Manhattan, reported by ABC15.
Investigators are actively piecing together a timeline of Almansoori's movements, connecting him to unsolved crimes in Florida and New York, where some victims were reported to work as escorts. Gathered evidence includes DNA, which the Arizona Department of Public Safety is processing to potentially link him to more crimes. Leah Palian, a previous victim from Florida, expressed her anguish in a statement, "He said before he started strangling me, screaming, 'I'll kill you,'" she recalled to FOX 10 Phoenix.
The case has sparked a jurisdictional debate, with Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, resolving to try Almansoori in Arizona before considering extradition to New York. "Having observed the treatment of violent criminals in the New York area by the Manhattan D.A. there, Alvin Bragg, I think it's safer to keep him here and keep him in custody, so that he cannot be out doing this to individuals, either in our state, or county, or anywhere in the United States," Mitchell stated in a remark obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix. The Manhattan District Attorney's office criticized Mitchell's decision, saying, "It is deeply disturbing that D.A. Mitchell is playing political games in a murder investigation," as communicated to ABC15.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been established to help cover the medical expenses for Madison, the stabbing victim at McDonald's. Almansoori remains in custody in Arizona facing charges for the stabbings and additional crimes, with no bond set for his release. His incrimination spans a timeline including a flight from New York to Arizona and allegedly seeking further targets before his apprehension near Scottsdale Fashion Square.
