A man arrested in Arizona for attacking a woman at a fast food restaurant reportedly confessed to the murder of New York mom Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, who was found beaten and strangled to death in a Lower Manhattan hotel room earlier his month.
Oleas-Arancibia, 38, was found dead by hotel staff on February 8. Her 18-year-old son had reported her missing when she didn’t come home from work the night before, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
The suspect left his bloody jeans behind in the hotel room and donned his victim’s leggings. He was captured on surveillance video leaving the hotel.
Court documents say Raad Almansoori, 26, was arrested by Scottsdale Police on Sunday after he allegedly stabbed a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant in Surprise, KPHO reported. While in custody, he told detectives he had killed a woman in New York, telling them to Google “SoHo 54,” the hotel where Oleas-Arancibia was killed.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny confirmed that Almansoori was the New York suspect in a news conference, also saying that investigators believe there may be more victims in more locations, especially Florida and Texas, where he previously lived and has prior arrests, including kidnapping and sexual assault.
“The majority of arrests involve domestic violence and assault,” Kenney said, according to WABC.
Kenny said Almansoori flew from Florida to New York on January 26. He met with an escort on February 6 in Manhattan before meeting with Oleas-Arancibia on February 7. He caught a flight in Newark, New Jersey, on February 12 and flew to Arizona.
“He committed a knife-point carjacking in Phoenix, Arizona, where he stabbed his female victim. He managed to escape that scene,” said Kenny.
The carjacking took place outside a Starbucks. KPHO reported that in the McDonald’s stabbing, Almansoori allegedly chased an employee into the bathroom, where she locked herself in a stall while he pounded on the door. When she didn’t open it, he crawled under the stall and pointed a gun at her. When she screamed, he stabbed her multiple times, according to court documents.
Under questioning, Almansoori said he “selected her because he was attracted to her” and intended to rape her “either dead or alive.” It’s not clear how she escaped.
According to WABC, Maricopa County prosecutors say they want to try Almansoori for his Arizona crime spree before he is extradited to New York to stand trial for Oleas-Arancibia’s murder.
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[Featured image: Raad Almansoori/Surprise Police Department and New York Police Department]
