Israeli man found guilty of murder in Michigan

Elias Abeulazam accused of killing three during stabbing spree near Flint

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Israeli immigrant to the United States Elias Abuelazam was found guilty of murder Tuesday afternoon in the fatal stabbing of 49-year-old Arnold Minor.

Abuelazam, originally from Lod, was accused of killing three during summer-long stabbing spree near Flint, Mich.

Minor’s blood was found on Abuelazam’s clothes and in his SUV. Abuelazam was arrested trying to board a plane to Israel.

Investigators say Abuelazam asked for directions or help with car trouble before stabbing his victims.

An attorney for Abuelazam told jurors earlier that his client fits the profile of a paranoid schizophrenic and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Prosecutors said Abuelazam wasn’t mentally ill at the time of the stabbings and should be held criminally responsible.

Fourteen people were stabbed in and around Flint two summers ago, and five died. Abuelazam, implicated in nine of the stabbings, has also been charged with attempted murder in Toledo, Ohio, and is suspected in a stabbing in Leesburg, Va.