United States (Kaab TV) – A federal court in the state of Missouri, USA, today issued a severe sentence against a Somali national convicted of a kidnapping case that resulted in death.

Mohamud Tooxoow Mohamed, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Megan B. Benton to 30 years in federal prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and the murder of a woman identified as J.M.

According to court documents, the body of J.M. was discovered on July 29, 2019, after being dumped in a pit located along Missouri Highway 59.

A DNA investigation confirmed that J.M.’s blood was found on various items recovered from a vehicle used jointly by the defendant and the victim.

J.M. was last seen alive on July 16, 2019. On that day, she called emergency services (911) and reported that Mohamud was holding a knife and attempting to force himself on her sexually.

She also expressed serious concern for the safety of her three children, who were at home with the defendant at the time.

The following day, July 17, 2019, J.M. and her children were reported missing. The children were later found in a house in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 8, 2019.

After leaving the children in Iowa, Mohamud Tooxoow Mohamed fled the United States and traveled to Guatemala, where he remained until he was apprehended by U.S. law enforcement on July 27, 2021.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. The investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI and police departments in McDonald County, Rochester, and Des Moines.