A man accused of the murder of a mother of four in a New York City hotel earlier this month was apprehended in Arizona after allegedly perpetrating another violent assault on a woman in a restaurant restroom. Authorities have identified the suspect as Raad Almansoori, aged 26, and have linked him to multiple attacks against women across different states.
The Surprise Police Department in Arizona responded to a distress call at a McDonald’s restaurant on Sunday, where they discovered a woman who had been stabbed multiple times, as announced on the department’s Facebook page. Almansoori reportedly fled the scene after the attack, stealing a vehicle. However, law enforcement officers located and arrested him shortly afterward in Scottsdale, Arizona, according to the department’s statement on Facebook.
During police questioning, Almansoori allegedly confessed to stabbing the woman at McDonald’s and also admitted to another assault on a woman in Phoenix a few days prior. He now faces various charges in Arizona, including attempted homicide in Surprise and robbery in Phoenix.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny of the New York Police Department stated that Almansoori is wanted in connection with the death of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, aged 38. Oleas-Arancibia was discovered deceased on February 8th inside a hotel in Manhattan’s SoHo district.
In an interview with The New York Daily News conducted in Spanish, Oleas-Arancibia’s 18-year-old son, Edwin Cevallos, recounted waiting for his mother to return home from work and calling the police when she failed to arrive. A housekeeper at the SoHo 54 Hotel later discovered Oleas-Arancibia’s body in a room on the 11th floor, lying under a blanket beside a blood-stained iron, as reported by WNBC.
Chief Kenny informed reporters that Oleas-Arancibia had “bits of plastic embedded” in her skull, and forensic examination concluded that her death resulted from blunt-force trauma.
During his interrogation by Arizona authorities, Almansoori allegedly mentioned being wanted for homicide in New York and suggested they search for information about the SoHo 54 Hotel online, Kenny stated.
Despite lacking a criminal record in New York, Almansoori reportedly has an “extensive out-of-state arrest history,” with previous charges in Florida, Texas, and Arizona, according to Kenny. Many of these arrests involved allegations of domestic violence and assault. Almansoori purportedly also confessed to assaulting three additional individuals in Florida.
Kenny highlighted Almansoori’s significant arrest in Sumter County, Florida, last year, where he was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman. Almansoori was released on bail in September. Prosecutors are now working to extradite Almansoori to New York, where he will face charges related to Oleas-Arancibia’s murder.
In speaking about Oleas-Arancibia, her son Cevallos described her as a compassionate person who always sought to help others and never caused harm. He emphasized her generosity and dedication to assisting those in need.
