SoHo hotel murder suspect planned to kill Uber driver, family before arrest: police
NEW YORK CITY - Raad Almansoori, the man accused in the gruesome Soho 54 Hotel murder, had confessed plans to kill an Uber driver, steal the Uber driver's car, and kill his father and stepmother, authorities said.
Almansoori appeared in an Arizona court on Monday to face separate murder charges for alleged stabbing attacks in the state.
"He was going to hire an Uber driver, find a means to kill the Uber driver, take their vehicle in order to complete the killing of his father and stepmother, burning the house down," Det. Jeremy Goebel, of the Surprise Police Department, testified.
Raad Almansoori
Goebel said Almansoori never carried out the attack plan because he was waiting for his sister to leave the house.
SoHo hotel murder
Raad Almansoori, 26, was wanted in the killing of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia at the SoHo 54 Hotel in Lower Manhattan.
The 38-year-old Queens mother, who police say had been working as an escort, was found dead on a hotel room floor by staff on Feb. 8.
Denisse Oleas-Arancibia
Police alleged Almansoori strangled her and then crushed her skull with an iron before surveillance video appeared to show him stepping out onto the streets wearing her leggings. A broken iron was found at the scene.
While in police custody in Arizona, police say Almansoori admitted to killing Oleas-Arancibia, telling Arizona police to Google "SoHo 54 Hotel."
Arizona attacks
After the SoHo hotel murder, Almansoori allegedly fled south to Arizona.
In Phoenix, he allegedly stabbed a woman, stole her car and drove to a suburban McDonald's, where prosecutors say he stabbed another woman.
The McDonald's victim told police that a man followed her into the public restroom and climbed underneath the stall door with a gun. Detectives interviewing her after she was released from intensive care said she was afraid he was going to rape her and slit her throat.
Almansoori allegedly wearing the SoHo hotel victim's leggings
Almansoori allegedly told her to shut up twice, pulled out an orange-handled knife and stabbed her three times in the neck as she screamed for help, a detective testified at the hearing.
"Not a single woman on this planet likes me," he allegedly told police, who indicated that may have been his motive.
Court records show Almansoori has prior charges in Arizona as well, including a 2018 conviction for aggravated assault.
Almansoori's extradition fight
Arizona officials have balked at sending Almansoori to New York, claiming that it's "safer" to keep him in their state.
Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, criticized the progressive policies of Manhattan’s top prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, who is a Democrat, and suggested his record on crime is reason enough for denying New York’s extradition request.
Legal experts said a denial on those grounds would be extraordinary.
Bragg's office fired back that Mitchell was "playing political games in a murder investigation," calling it a "slap in the face" to the victims in both states.
"Even though there is a homicide in New York, we can guarantee that he is going to stay in custody here," Mitchell told "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning. "Let me be very clear, my heart goes out to the next of kin of the victim in New York, [and] I'm not casting aspersions on the NYPD either… but we have a case here, and we have him in custody."
More victims?
Authorities said Almansoori had previous arrests in Florida and Texas for kidnapping and sexual assault.
Last April, he was accused of sexually battering and assaulting a woman as well as holding her against her will, according to an Orlando Police affidavit, FOX 35 Orlando reported. The victim managed to escape from Almansoori and call 911 from a 7-Eleven.
According to an arrest affidavit by Florida Highway Patrol, state troopers caught Almansoori a day later in Sumter County driving the woman's car, which had been reported stolen. Court records show Almansoori bounded out of jail this past September, and the case remains open, with a trial scheduled for March.
FOX 10 Phoenix, FOX 35 Orlando, Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.