SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Lt. Erika Aklufi of the Santa Monica Police Department informed Canyon News via email that a suspect arrested for a 2022 murder has been convicted in court.
The SMPD reported that on November 2, 2022, officers responded to Lot 1 North, the beach parking lot just north of the Pier, for a suspicious circumstances call. A parking attendant noticed a male subject lying motionless in the driver seat and possibly bleeding.
Officers located the vehicle in the west end of the parking lot, facing the beach. The individual inside the vehicle was clearly grievously injured in a knife attack and was confirmed deceased by responding firefighters. Initially, the victim was listed as a John Doe.
Forensics Specialists responded to the scene, collecting hundreds of DNA swabs and latent fingerprints along with over a thousand photos. Detectives with the SMPD quickly learned the victim was a resident of Dearborn, Michigan, who recently purchased the vehicle from a private party in Southern California.
Using evidence collected from the vehicle and other investigative tools, the murder suspect was identified as Dearborn resident Mohamed Abou-Arabi, 24. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a single count of murder with an enhancement for utilizing a knife to commit the fatal attack. A warrant was issued for Abou-Arabi’s arrest.
With assistance from the Dearborn Police Department, the SMPD was able to pinpoint Abou-Arabi’s movements from California back to Michigan following the attack. In January 2023, SMPD Detectives flew to Michigan and arrested Abou-Arabi for murder. He was booked into the Santa Monica Jail on January 18, 2023, and has been in the custody of Los Angeles County since that time.
During trial in September 2024, Abou-Arabi was found guilty of First-Degree Murder. His sentencing will be in December 2024. Abou-Arabi has no prior arrests or convictions in California. He has two prior arrests for misdemeanor weapons offenses in Michigan. Abou-Arabi refused to provide a motive during the investigation and trial.
By Trevor