Show-Me State Times

A Somali national residing in Noel, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death. Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, 43, entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush.

Mahamed admitted to the kidnapping of J.M., whose body was found on July 29, 2019, near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan and Noel. According to authorities, an individual reported seeing a pink suitcase in a roadside ditch with feet sticking out. Law enforcement discovered J.M.’s severely decomposed body next to the suitcase. A salesclerk from an African Grocery Store in Noel later told investigators that Mahamed had purchased a pink suitcase before J.M.’s body was discovered.

J.M. was last seen alive on July 16, 2019. On that day, law enforcement responded to her home after she called 911 and reported that Mahamed had held her at knifepoint and attempted to force her into sexual intercourse. During the call, J.M. expressed concern for her three young children who were present in the apartment with Mahamed; court documents identified them as Jane Doe 1 (four years old), Jane Doe 2 (two years old), and Jane Doe 3 (six months old).

J.M. and her children were reported missing on July 17 after family and friends were unable to reach her by phone or in person.

On or about July 28 or July 29, Mahamed contacted his cousin and said he was bringing J.M.’s children to her in Minnesota. When asked about his reasons for doing so, Mahamed indicated that something bad had happened and he could be in trouble.

The children were later found at a residence in Des Moines, Iowa, where they were taken into state custody on August 8, 2019. The resident informed police that Mahamed arrived with the children on August 5 but left early on August 8 without them.

Following this incident, Mahamed left the United States and became a fugitive until he was located and expelled from Guatemala on July 27, 2021. He has remained in federal custody since returning to the United States.

DNA analysis confirmed that the recovered body belonged to J.M., with blood evidence also linking items from a vehicle used by Mahamed to the crime.

Mahamed faces up to life imprisonment without parole under federal statutes; sentencing will be determined by the court following completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

"This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller," according to information provided by officials involved with the case. "It was investigated by the FBI, the McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Rochester, Minn., Police Department, and the Des Moines, Iowa, Police Department."