On
this date, September 24, 2014, the Vaughan Foods Beheading Incident occurred in
Moore, Oklahoma. I will post information about this murder case from Wikipedia.
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Alton Alexander Nolen AKA "Jah'Keem
Yisrael"
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Vaughan Foods beheading incident
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Location
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Moore,
Oklahoma, U.S.
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Date
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September 24, 2014
4:15 p.m. |
Attack type
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Decapitation, stabbing
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Weapons
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Knife
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Deaths
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1
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Non-fatal injuries
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2 (including the suspect)
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Suspected
perpetrators
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Alton
Alexander Nolen
"Jah'Keem Yisrael"
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The Vaughan Foods beheading
incident occurred on September 24, 2014, when a man attacked two employees
at the Vaughan Foods food processing plant in Moore,
Oklahoma, United States, with a knife. Colleen Hufford was
beheaded, while another employee, Traci Johnson, was stabbed and critically
injured. The suspect identified as Alton Nolen, who was fired from the plant
prior to the attack, was then shot and wounded by Vaughan Foods Chief Operating
Officer Mark Vaughan.[2][3][4]
Alton Nolen was charged with first-degree murder and assault and battery
with a deadly weapon, while facing possible federal charges as well. The attack
came to national attention due to its gruesome nature, which followed a
well-publicized recent series of beheadings carried
out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS).
Attack
On
September 24, 2014, a Vaughan Foods employee identified as Alton Nolen, was
suspended from his job in suburban Oklahoma
City after one of the victims (Traci Johnson) initiated a complaint against
him following an argument “about [Nolen] not liking white people,” according to
Cleveland County Prosecutor Greg Mashburn. Immediately afterwards, he went home
to retrieve a knife and placed it inside his shoe. He then drove to the plant's
main distribution center, crashed into a parked car, and entered the front
administrative office area at around 4:15 p.m. There, according to detectives,
he attacked a female employee (Colleen Hufford) from behind with the knife,
first slashing her throat and then beheading her. Other coworkers tried to stop
him during the assault by kicking him and throwing chairs at him. Then, he
slashed the throat and face of another female employee, intending to behead her
as well, before being shot and wounded in the arm and abdomen by Vaughn Foods
Chief Operating Officer Mark Vaughan, who was also an Oklahoma County reserve
deputy, and arrested by responding police.
Victims
The
slain victim in the attack was identified as 54-year-old Colleen Hufford. Her
cause of death was verified to be "decapitation due to multiple sharp
force trauma to neck" and classified as a homicide. 43-year-old Traci
Johnson, the injured victim, was treated at the University of Oklahoma Medical
Center for multiple stab wounds and survived her injuries.
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'Killer': Alton Alexander Nolen, 30,
allegedly attacked two women after entering a food distribution center on
Thursday - beheading one of them. He was eventually stopped when he was shot by
an off-duty officer
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Suspect
Alton
Nolen
Alton Alexander Nolen, at the time age 30, was identified as the sole suspect
in the attack. He worked as a production line employee at Vaughan Foods before
being suspended. He was charged with assault and battery on a police officer
after being pulled over in 2010 for having a suspended license plate. He fled,
sparking a massive manhunt that lasted for twelve hours. Nolen was sentenced to
five years in prison, but was released on March 2013 after serving two years
and ordered to attend an anger management course. He was also convicted of
cocaine possession with the intent to distribute during the following year.
Nolen
had been suspended from his job prior to the attack due to "personnel
issues", although specific details still remain unclear. Injured victim
Traci Johnson later claimed it was from an altercation she had with him when he
stated he "did not like white people". The weapon he used in the
attack was a standard knife used by employees to cut lettuce and other
vegetables, allegedly acquired from his home. County District Attorney Greg
Mashburn, noted that Nolen reportedly had three specific targets for the attack,
including Johnson. The other two reported targets were not hurt during the
incident.
Islamic
connection
The
motive for the attack was initially unclear, as it was not known if the
suspect's beliefs played a role in the attack. In their search warrant requests,
police reported that witnesses had stated "Nolen had several previous
disagreements and arguments with employees,” while describing him as becoming
increasingly violent, disrespectful, and aggressive towards his co-workers.
"Witnesses also had overheard Nolen saying that he did not like and beat
Caucasians." Nolen had also "recently converted to the Islam religion
and was attempting to convince other employees to convert to the
religion," and that Nolen had become aggressive and belligerent to other
employees, while wanting others to call him ‘Muhammad.’.
However,
prosecutors noted that Nolen had demonstrated an “infatuation” with beheadings.
Because of the brutal manner of death and the fact that the attack followed a
series of high-profile videotaped beheadings carried out by Islamic State
(ISIS) militants in the Middle East, Moore police asked the FBI to assist in the investigation.
The FBI was also investigating the attack because Nolen “was saying Arabic
terms in the attack,” according to County Prosecutor Greg Mashburn. Although
Nolen attended a Baptist
church as a youth, Oklahoma prison system records listed his religion as Islam. FBI officials
confirmed that their investigation included whether Nolen’s recent conversion
to Islam was somehow linked to the crime. Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis
confirmed his department’s request for FBI help investigating Nolen's
background. Oklahoma prison records also show that Nolen, who has a previous
criminal record, has a tattoo reading “Assalamu Alaikum”, an Arabic greeting
that translates to “Peace be with you”.
After
his arrest, news websites published information from his Facebook page,
in which he calls himself "Jah'Keem Yisrael" and uploaded photos of
himself reading the Koran and wearing Muslim religious clothing. His online
posts were often related to Islamist interests, condemning the United States
and Israel,
also claiming that sharia
law was coming.
Using
his Islamic name, "Jah'Keem Yisrael" his Facebook page features
photos of Taliban
fighters and Osama bin Laden, as well as a photo of the September 11 attacks that was captioned:
"A Future Prophecy Revelation 18:8 She (The statue Of Liberty) is going into flames. She and anybody who's with her." [sic]
Patrick
T. Dunleavy, former deputy inspector general of the New York State Police
Criminal Intelligence Unit and author of The Fertile Soil of Jihad:
Terrorism’s Prison Connection, calls it likely that Alton's actions were
the result of radicalization.
Saad
Mohammed, director of information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma
City, confirmed that Alton Nolen began worshipping at one of the group's
mosques in May and that he has seen him there several times since. Although, he
claimed Nolen wasn't outgoing and those who attended the same mosque as he did
described his behavior as "a little odd" and "a little weird",
nonetheless his behavior didn't raise any red flags. Mohammed said Nolen
attended services where sermons were delivered against beheadings like those
committed by ISIS militants and that Nolen's actions did not reflect the
beliefs of Islam.
Legal
proceedings
On
September 30, Nolen was charged with first-degree murder and assault and
battery with a deadly weapon. According to police, he "openly
admitted" to killing Hufford and injuring Johnson during the attack.
Prosecutors are expected to pursue the death penalty in the case. A preliminary
hearing was scheduled for October 14, but it was later rescheduled to December
2 due to a scheduling conflict with Nolen's lawyers. It was rescheduled again
to April 2015. The preliminary hearing was delayed again until June 10, but it
was postponed again until July 30. On September 15, 2015, a competency trial
for Nolen was set for October 26.
On
October 28, 2015, District Judge Lori Walkley ruled that Alton Nolen was
competent to stand trial. He is accused of beheading co-worker Colleen Hufford,
and nearly beheading Traci Johnson, a second co-worker, who survived her
injuries. He also faces four assault and battery charges for threatening or
assaulting co-workers with a knife. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
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