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Serial Stabbing Suspect Elias Abuelazam Convicted of Murder

Jurors in Flint, Michigan deliberated less one hour before reaching a guilty verdict in the first murder trial for Elias Abuelazam, accused of a horrific stabbing spree in the summer of 2010. Abuelazam is believed to have targeted at least 18 men in three state, including five fatal stabbings. All but one of the victims were Black or dark skinned men.

Abuelazam, 35, faced a first degree murder charge in the Aug. 2, 2010, stabbing death of Arnold Minor, 49. Today is just two days shy of the two-year anniversary of the first alleged attack, although Abuelazam is not charged in the case. David Motley, 31, died from stab wounds suffered on May, 24, 2010.

Prosecutors say Abuelazam went on to attack 13 others, including four fatally. Jurors also heard testimony from four of the surviving victims who identified Abuelazam as his attacker.The survivors talked about how Abuelazam asked for directions or help with his vehicle before attacking them.

Abuelazam is suspected in a high-profile series of stabbings in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio in the summer of 2010. He was arrested 12 August 2010 at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport as he tried to board a plane bound for his native country of Israel. Abuelazam was traveling on an expired Israeli passport and was later identified as an Israeli Arab citizen who lived near Flint.

The stabbings and murders of Black men around Flint initially "drew little attention", reported the AP. Residents slammed the Flint Police Department, Genessee County Sheriff and Michigan State Police for taking up to three months to link the attacks ... and not warning them that a serial killer was on the loose. One 17-year-old stabbing victim says police "never" questioned him the night he was attacked and "waited days" to ask any questions.

The Justice Department and FBI tried to determine if the stabbings were racially motivated but could not prove so. Abuelazam faces life in prison without parole.

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Serial Slasher Suspect Arrested Enroute to Israel
Michigan Police Seek Serial Killer That Targets Black Men
Police Seek Serial Killer in Racial Attacks

Suspected Serial Killer Elias Abuelazam to be Arraigned in Flint

The 33-year-old Israeli Arab man suspected of a horrific stabbing spree of 18 attacks in three states, including five fatal stabbings, has been returned to Flint, Michigan to face charges. All but one of the victims were Black or dark skinned men.

  Elias Abuelazam was extradited from Atlanta this morning. Abuelazam was arrested August 11 at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport before catching a flight bound for Tel Aviv.

Detroit's FOX 5 reports Abuelazam is expected to land in Flint at 1P ET. The Israeli national is scheduled for a 3P video arraignment and faces one charge of assault with intent to commit murder.

Residents in an around Flint have slammed the Flint Police Department, Genessee County Sheriff and Michigan State Police for taking up to three months to link the attacks ... and not warning them that a serial killer was on the loose. One 17-year-old stabbing victim says police "never" questioned him the night he was attacked and "waited days" to ask any questions.

WATCH: Flint Residents Ask Police Why Weren't Warned of Killer

The latest on Elias Abuelazam, the 33-year-old Israeli Arab suspected of a horrific stabbing spree at least 20 men. All but one were Black or dark skinned. Five men were killed around Flint, Michigan and others were attacked in Virginia and Ohio. At a packed community meeting last night in Flint, about 100 residents demanded answers and said they were not warned a serial killer was on the loose.

  The first fatal attack was May 24 and the final fatal attack on August 2 when 49-year-old Arnold Minor was killed. "We never heard any type of [serial killer] going on," the victim's mother, Elzora Minor, told WDIV. Minor's sister believes police didn't do more because "most of the victims" were Black. "They were doing a lot of covering up so no one will place the blame on them," Stephanie Minor said.

Seventeen-year-old Etwan Wilson was stabbed on August 1 and survived. Wilson says police "never" questioned him that night  and demanded to know why they waited days to interview him.

  Abuelazam is expected to be extradited to Michigan from Atlanta this week to face at least one count of murder. Abuelazam was arrested August 11 at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport before catching a flight bound for Tel Aviv.

Were police waiting for a "better" time to search for the killer? Did they assume the attacks were gang-related? Or did they just not care?

Watch WJRT's report WHEN YOU JUMP ...

WATCH: Serial Slasher Elias Abuelazam Appears in Court

The latest on Elias Abuelazam, the 33-year-old Israeli Arab suspected of a horrific stabbing spree at least 20 men. All but one were Black or dark skinned. Five men were killed around Flint, Michigan and others were attacked in Virginia and Ohio. Abuelazam appeared in an Atlanta court on Friday and agreed to return to Michigan to face charges.

Abuelazam did not fight extradition. So far, there is one Flint-area arrest warrant  for a charge of assault with intent to murder. Michigan State Police want to take their time and build cases in the other murders and assaults.

  Federal investigators probe a hate crime motive.

The FBI and Virginia police now believe the serial slashing suspect killed a Leesburg man in March 2009.

The stabbings and murders of random Black men around Flint initially "drew little attention", reports the AP. Why did it take the police so long to realize there was a serial killer?

Watch and hear the man described as a "stone cold killer" in court AFTER THE JUMP ...

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  The number of attacks believed to be tied to suspected serial killer Elias Abuelazam grows longer. "Police in Virginia investigate whether he also stabbed his former neighbor to death. Police in Israel said the Israeli-Arab stabbed a friend in Israel about six months ago, who survived. The attacks would bring to 20 the total number of victims."

Police Consider Hate Crime Motive by Slasher Suspect Elias Abuelazam

Disturbing details are emerging about Elias Abuelazam, the 33-year-old Israeli Arab suspect arrested by law enforcement at the Atlanta International Airport on suspicion of being behind stabbings of 18 men. All but one were black or dark skinned. Five men were killed in the terror spree around Flint, Michigan and others were attacked in Virginia and Ohio.

Abuelazam has been in police custody TWICE in as many weeks and was released. "At least twice in recent weeks, police in Michigan and Virginia nabbed him, with police in Virginia even spotting possible murder weapons, reports ABC News. "In both cases, the authorities let him go, apparently failing to peg him as a suspect in the stabbings."

Abuelazam has been charged with assault with intent to murder in the July 27 stabbing in Flint. More charges are expected and the Israeli citizen is being questioned by federal authorities who are trying to determine if indeed the stabbings were racially motivated, reports MSNBC. The last young man viciously stabbed by the serial slasher provided the crucial identification police needed to arrest Abuezalam. Watch WJRT and ABC News' reports WHEN YOU JUMP

WATCH: Serial Slasher Suspect Arrested Enroute to Israel

The man suspected in a high-profile series of stabbings in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio that resulted in at least 20 attacks and five deaths was arrested at the Atlanta airport as he tried to board a plane bound for Israel, according to MSNBC and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. All but one of the victims were black or dark-skinned men.

Police say the unidentified man was apprehended at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as he attempted to board a Delta flight 152 for Tel Aviv. The suspect was later handed over to the FBI and Atlanta police. The man reportedly was traveling on an expired Israeli passport and has been identified as an Israeli citizen who lived near Flint, according to Detroit 4.

"Based on over 500 tips police received, they learned the suspect worked at a party store north of Flint. Officers checked surveillance video from the store to confirm the suspect previously worked at that store. Authorities were able to obtain search warrants and track the suspect electronically through several states. The manager told Local 4 the man worked there for about a month. He started on July 5 and hasn't been seen since Aug. 1. Police said the man lived in the Flint-area but is an Israeli citizen. He is in the US legally, according to an anonymous source."

A news conference will be held later this afternoon in Flint. Watch CNN and local news reports AFTER THE JUMP ...

WATCH: Police Seek Serial Killer in MI, VA and Ohio Racial Attacks

Authorities are investigating whether a serial-killing suspect has widened his scope beyond Flint, Michigan and attacked men in Toledo, Ohio and Leesburg, Virginia, police. The perpetrator is a white male and all but two of the victims are Black men. Michigan State Police have also confirmed a 16th Michigan victim for the serial stabber now accused of killing five people.

The Detroit Free Press:

"After three men in Leesburg, Va., were attacked without provocation, police in the Washington, D.C., suburb dug through national crime databases and searched news reports during the weekend. The assaults bore striking similarities to stabbings in the Flint area that police say they believe are the work of a serial killer. Now, with those attacks and another reported Saturday in Toledo, authorities stepped up their efforts to locate a man whose victims since May could now number nearly 20 -- five of whom died."

A third man, a dark-skinned Latino, was attacked Friday in a Leesburg shopping center parking lot "but this time a hammer was used." Meanwhile: Police in Toledo are investigating whether a weekend stabbing that "critically injured a church janitor is linked to five stabbing deaths."

Watch CNN and a Toledo news report AFTER THE JUMP ...

WATCH: Michigan Police Seek Serial Killer That Targets Black Men

Michigan State Police and authorities around Flint are looking for one man responsible for 13 stabbings resulting in five deaths since late May. All but one of the victims are African-Americans and the perpetrator is as a white male.

  Over the weekend, "police released a sketch of the suspect who they say is targeting men who are elderly, small of stature or otherwise vulnerable," reports the Detroit Free Press. The man is described as a "white, muscular male standing 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 2 inches, lightly goateed with a baseball cap and sporting a stud in his left ear. "Police say the man approaches his victims, asking for help or directions, and then engages in short conversation before stabbing them repeatedly."

The stabbings have been reported across Genessee County in  Flint, Flint Township, Burton and Genesee Township.  Two of the victims were disabled.

A weekend vigil was held to remember the latest victim.

A Saturday stabbing in Flint was unrelated.

Battle Creek Police and the FBI are investigating an apparently unrelated violent carjacking and vicious stabbing as a possible anti-gay hate crime.

More developments today: Investigators in Leesburg, Virginia believe the same man could be responsible for three stabbing attacks there last week against Black men. Watch news reports AFTER THE JUMP ...