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MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) --- The suspect who allegedly killed a Queens woman in a SoHo hotel bragged about the brutal murder after he was recently apprehended in two out-of-state stabbings, authorities said.
"You should Google SoHo 54 hotel," Raad Almansoori allegedly told cops after he was arrested in Arizona while driving a stolen car, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Almansoori, 26, told the officers he was wanted for a homicide in New York, Kenny said Tuesday at a press briefing in Lower Manhattan.
The suspect allegedly bludgeoned Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38, to death with an iron after the two fought inside room 1109 at the SoHo 54 Hotel at 54 Watts St. in Lower Manhattan earlier this month, authorities said.
"It appears there was a dispute over time allowed to stay in the room after services were rendered," Kenny said, adding that Almansoori allegedly met with another escort the day before the slaying.
A hotel employee discovered Oleas-Arancibia’s body in the room on the morning of Feb. 8, police said. The victim had pieces of plastic in her head from a bloody iron, which was found near her body, police said. She died of blunt force trauma, officials said.
Almansoori allegedly left his bloody pants in the room and walked out of the hotel in the victim's leggings before hopping on a plane from Newark Liberty International Airport to Arizona on Feb. 12, police said. The suspect then allegedly carjacked a woman at knifepoint in Phoenix and stabbed a McDonald's worker several times in the restaurant bathroom over the weekend, authorities said.
Authorities in Arizona contacted law enforcement in New York and the sides are working out an extradition treaty, Kenny said. It is unclear when the suspect will be brought to New York City to face charges.
The suspect has an extensive arrest history in several states, including a kidnapping and a sexual assault in April 2023 in Florida, officials said. Most of the arrests are for domestic violence.
Authorities believe there may be more victims in other states and have reached out to the FBI for assistance.