No More Trials For Flint Serial Stabber
FLINT (WWJ/AP) - A man charged in a series of stabbings in a Michigan city in 2010 will face no additional trials unless his first murder conviction is overturned on appeal.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said two murder cases and six attempted murder cases will be suspended against Elias Abuelazam. The action was disclosed Friday at a court in Flint.
Leyton says additional trials would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Abuelazam, a native of Israel, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after a first murder trial last spring.
People convicted of first-degree murder in Michigan are automatically entitled to an appeal. Abuelazam's is in the early stages.
Abuelazam defense attorney Ed Zeineh called the prosecutor's decision appropriate.
An attempted murder case is pending in Ohio.
The stabbing spree terrified the working-class city of Flint. Fourteen people were stabbed in the area, and five died. Survivors said their assailant claimed to have car trouble or asked for directions before attacking.
Most were stabbed in the wee hours of the night. There is no evidence that Abuelazam, who worked the afternoon shift in a party store, knew them. A motive has not been offered.
Abuelazam had lived in Flint just a few months, staying in a house owned by his uncle, who lived next door. Abuelazam was captured in Atlanta in August 2010 while trying to flee to Israel. Police seized his luggage and SUV and said they found victims' blood.
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