Inset: Abdelmagid “Majet” Elzubeir (Des Moines Police Department). Background: Police at the home where Abdelmagid Elzubeir was fatally stabbed by his brother (KCCI).
A 17-year-old in Iowa will spend several years behind bars for killing his older brother, fatally stabbing his 19-year-old sibling to death and telling authorities he was sick of being “picked on” by the victim.
Polk County District Judge Joseph Seidlin on Wednesday ordered Mohamed Mutaz Elzubeir to serve up to 10 years in a state correctional facility for the 2024 slaying of Abdelmagid “Majet” Elzubeir, authorities announced. According to a news release from prosecutors, the judge handed down the sentence after Elzubeir, who had initially been facing a charge of first-degree murder, reached a deal with prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter in connection to his brother”s death.
The fatal stabbing took place on June 11, 2024, at the brothers’ family home in the 900 block of Oakridge Drive in Des Moines, police said. Officers with the Des Moines Police Department responded to the residence after receiving a report of a possible stabbing. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they found the victim, later identified as Abdelmagid Elzubeir, suffering from a stab wound to the neck.
The victim was transported to UnityPoint Methodist Medical Center for treatment, but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
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The defendant, who was 16 at the time of the attack, will turn 18 next month. Due to his age, prosecutors said that Mohamed Elzubeir had been eligible for a wide array of punishments, including the possibility of deferred judgment and probation. However, the court agreed with recommendations from both prosecutors and defense attorneys, ultimately deciding that the defendant’s actions warranted time in prison.
The judge cited numerous circumstances when explaining her decision for putting Mohamed Elzubeir behind bars.
“Mohamed has a long, troubled history of managing his behaviors,” Seidlin said, according to prosecutors. The judge went on to note that a 2021 car crash caused the defendant to suffer a traumatic brain injury, which Seidlin said exacerbated the defendant’s behavioral problems.
The judge said Mohamed Elzubeir appeared “to do well in a structured environment, and that prison would keep the community safe while providing the opportunity for rehabilitation.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors said that Mohamed Elzubeir told the court “several times” that he “was guilty” and “had blood on his hands.”
“I stabbed my brother in the neck with a kitchen knife,” he said, per the release. “My older brother had picked on me and bullied me for years.”
Mohamed Elzubeir said the victim was “screaming” at him and then “pushed him” before Mohamed Elzubeir “swung at him with the knife.”
