US national Salman Subeyr Haji has pleaded not guilty to the murder of a 67-year-old woman in Seattle, barely a week after he was arrested in Nairobi, where he is believed to have been hiding since being linked to the January 26, 2024, incident.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers arrested Haji in Komarock, a suburb in Embakasi Constituency, Nairobi County, on June 12, 2025.
US national Salman Subeyr Haji, linked to the January 2024 murder of a 67-year-old woman in Seattle, was arrested in Komarocks, Nairobi, on June 12, 2025, where he was believed to be hiding.
Haji was detained at the Gigiri police station until June 19, when he was handed over to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officers for extradition to the US for prosecution.
On Monday, a court in Seattle granted Haji bail of $5 million (Sh648 million) after he denied one count of murder, two counts of robbery and another of eluding police.
“Our carjacking task force identified this case as meriting federal prosecution. Separate and distinct from the fatal shooting in Tukwila, this defendant (Haji) is alleged to have used a firearm to steal a car from a woman driving in Seattle. She made a narrow escape. This defendant needs to be held accountable,” said US Attorney Tessa Gorman in court.
Haji and Ilyis Abdi are suspected of shooting Yuam Ming outside the Tukwila branch of the popular US retail chain Costco.
The two are alleged to have earlier carjacked a Porsche Cayenne from another woman at gunpoint, and used the luxury Sports Utility Vehicle to extend their crime spree.
While driving the stolen Porsche Cayenne, Haji and Abdi are alleged to have spotted Ming and her sister, Mingyong Huang, loading their shopping from the Costco branch.
Ming tried to fight off an attacker prosecutors insist was Haji, as another individual alleged to be Abdi was the getaway driver sitting in the stolen Porsche Cayenne.
“Abdi turned the Porsche around and slowly approached the women’s location. As one of the women got into her vehicle’s driver seat, [Haji] jumped from the Porsche and ran up on her. Leaning into her vehicle, he attempted to grab her purse. The woman, [Ming’s sister], fought back and kept hold of her purse while [Ming] leaned over from the passenger seat and attempted to help,” prosecutor Jason Brookhyser wrote in the charging documents.
The two men allegedly drove to another store, where they used a credit card stolen from the Porsche Cayenne’s owner to purchase gift cards.
In the US and Europe, gift cards are often used by criminals to launder their loot.
Criminals, after acquiring the gift cards, sell the redemption codes to larger syndicates at a throwaway price.
The larger criminal organisations then use their networks to purchase items using the redemption codes from the gift cards. The redeemed goods are then sold, mostly in countries other than those in which they were redeemed.
Haji’s fingerprints had been found on a door on the passenger side of the Porsche Cayenne, while Abdi’s were found on the vehicle’s number plate.
Mr Haji has multiple known aliases, including Salmon Subeyr Haji, Salman Hagi and Markell Somo Jefferson.
Prosecutors have revealed that the aliases caused confusion during the investigation, mostly after the FBI launched a manhunt for the suspect.
