A 23-year-old Kent man pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder for stabbing a 20-year-old woman at a Kent apartment complex.
Ahmed Osman entered the plea Feb. 8 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. He also pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault for stabbing and injuring a second woman. Osman is scheduled to return to court April 26 when a trial date could be set or attorneys could ask for more time to prepare the case.
Osman remains in the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle with bail set at $5 million. King County prosecutors asked a judge for the high bail because of the premeditated nature of the killing, the brutality of it and Osman’s financial resources, according to charging documents.
Nyaruot Chuol, 20, died from stab wounds in the Jan. 24 attack, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Osman reportedly stabbed Chuol three times, with the first stab wound to her abdomen being the fatal strike. He also stabbed her twice in the back.
Kent Police responded at about 6:50 a.m. to the Midtown 64 Apartments, 24615 64th Ave. S., after a 911 caller reported a woman had been stabbed near the elevator, according to charging papers.
Officers found Chuol and her female cousin on the second-floor hallway near the elevator. Chuol was unresponsive and bleeding from multiple stab wounds. The cousin told police that Osman had fled to a nearby apartment.
One officer took Chuol down the elevator to the first floor lobby where he attempted life-saving measures, but she died at the scene.
Valley SWAT arrived and tried to get Osman to come out of the apartment, but he refused. SWAT then deployed gas canisters into the apartment via the front window. Osman then exited the apartment and was taken into custody. When detectives tried to interview him, he asked for an attorney and they stopped questioning him.
Chuol and Osman had been involved in a sexual relationship for an unknown period of time, according to her cousin. The relationship had deteoriated over the past weeks and Chuol had blocked Osman’s number from her cellphone.
On Jan. 23, however, Chuol and her cousin were at Osman’s apartment after picking up food at Taco Bell. All three were drinking “Remy,” a brand of cognac and Osman was smoking marijuana. In the early morning hours, Osman and Chuol get into an argument after she refused to have sex with him. Osman then slapped Chuol and demanded that both women leave his apartment.
The two women then left the apartment only to return to get Chuol’s cellphone. A second altercation started. The women left the apartment again and were waiting for the elevator when Osman came at them carrying a large kitchen knife. He stabbed Chuol in the stomach and tried to stab the cousin, according to charging papers.
Detectives obtained video from the apartment complex that showed Osman stabbing Chuol. He tried to stab the cousin but the attempt was blocked by her arms. After about 10 seconds, Osman stabbed Chuol again and 12 seconds later he stabbed her a third time.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Osman has been employed as a Microsoft software engineer since the age of 21 and was recently promoted. He received a bonus of $30,000 in 2020 and based on his federal income tax withholding for 2020, he had an annual salary of between $163,000 and $207,000.
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