A Somali national formerly residing in Noel, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to kidnapping resulting in death. Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, 43, entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush.
According to court documents, Mahamed admitted to kidnapping J.M., whose body was found on July 29, 2019, near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan and Noel. Authorities discovered her remains next to a pink suitcase after a passerby reported seeing feet sticking out of the luggage in a roadside ditch. A salesclerk from an African Grocery Store in Noel told investigators that Mahamed had purchased a pink suitcase prior to the discovery of J.M.’s body.
J.M. was last seen alive on July 16, 2019. 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 the safety of her three young children—identified as Jane Doe 1 (age four), Jane Doe 2 (age two), and Jane Doe 3 (six months old)—who were present with Mahamed in the apartment.
J.M. and her children were reported missing on July 17 after attempts by others to contact them failed.
On or around July 28 or July 29, Mahamed contacted his cousin and said he was bringing J.M.’s children to Minnesota because “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 authorities that Mahamed arrived with the children on August 5 but left without them early on August 8.
After leaving the children behind in Iowa, Mahamed fled the United States and remained a fugitive until he was expelled from Guatemala on July 27, 2021. He has been held in federal custody since returning to the U.S.
DNA analysis confirmed that the body recovered was J.M.’s; investigators also found her blood on several items from a vehicle used by Mahamed.
Mahamed faces up to life imprisonment without parole under federal law. The final sentence will be determined by the court following a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller is prosecuting this case with investigative support from multiple agencies: the FBI; McDonald County Sheriff’s Department (Missouri); Rochester Police Department (Minnesota); and Des Moines Police Department (Iowa).
