HOUSTON — A 47-year-old Colorado man was sentenced to life in prison last week for a deadly stabbing in Houston in 2019, and according to investigators, he's also accused of killing a woman in the Denver area.
"We don’t want Abbas Abed walking the same streets as our families, our friends or our children ever again," Harris County Assistant District Attorney Catherine Johnson said. "He is scary as hell."
Abbas Abdal Abed, 47, stabbed 29-year-old Abdulrahman Haris to death on Dec. 15, 2019, but it wasn't the first time he killed, according to authorities.
First stabbing
Abed is accused of killing 31-year-old Chelsea Anne Snider at a hotel in the Denver area. She was beaten and stabbed to death.
Authorities said the relationship between Abed and Snider is unclear.
According to reports, he was working as an Uber driver and she was a mother of three who struggled with substance abuse.
His murder case in Colorado is pending.
Houston murder
After Abed was charged with murder in Colorado, authorities said he fled to Houston, where he previously lived and knew several people.
He and Haris knew each other and they both came from Iraq around the same time. Haris settled in Houston and Abed moved away.
When Abed returned in 2019, Haris gave him some money and took him to a Walmart on the Beltway on the southwest side when Abed stabbed him in the neck and abdomen. Haris then pulled the car over and ran toward a group of people to get help. He later died of the wounds. Abed drove away in the car.
In the wake of the murder, authorities posted photos of Abed all over town. In addition to Haris' death, he was also still wanted in Colorado to face the murder charge in connection with Snider's death.
Abed was arrested about two weeks after Haris' death when a security guard at a west Houston food pantry recognized him from the flyers and called the police.
"Houston is a big and diverse city, and someone on the run may think they can hide out here. But the cohesiveness of our community is our strength, and we will find and prosecute fugitives," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "It is a tragedy that a young man lost his life because someone he barely knew was trying to escape any responsibility and accountability."
Sentenced
Abed was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. He has to serve at least 30 years before he's eligible for parole.
