Conviction in 2022 murder

A Michigan man has been convicted of killing a man near Santa Monica beach in 2022.

According to the Santa Monica Police Department, Mohamed Abou-Arabi, was convicted in September and will be sentenced in December for killing a man near Lot 1 North, near the Pier.

Police were called to the scene on Nov. 2 when a parking attendant noticed a male subject lying motionless in the driver seat and possibly bleeding.

Officers located the vehicle in the west end of the parking lot, facing the beach. The individual inside the vehicle was clearly seriously injured in a knife attack and was confirmed deceased by responding firefighters.

Forensics Specialists responded to the scene, collecting hundreds of DNA swabs and latent fingerprints along with over a thousand photos. SMPD detectives quickly learned the victim was a resident of Dearborn, Michigan, who recently purchased the vehicle from a private party in Southern California.

Using evidence collected from the vehicle and other investigative tools, the murder suspect was identified as Dearborn resident Mohamed Abou-Arabi (DOB: 01/22/2000). The LA County District Attorney’s Office filed a single count of murder with an enhancement for utilizing a knife to commit the fatal attack. A warrant was then issued for Abou-Arabi’s arrest.

SMPD said that with crucial assistance from the Dearborn Police Department, SMPD was able to pinpoint Abou-Arabi’s movements from California back to Michigan following the attack. In January 2023, SMPD Detectives flew to Michigan and arrested Abou-Arabi for murder. He was booked into the Santa Monica Jail on January 18, 2023, and has been in the custody of LA County since that time.

At trial in September of 2024, Abou-Arabi was found guilty of First-Degree Murder. His sentencing will be in December.

Abou-Arabi has no prior arrests or convictions in California. He has two prior arrests for misdemeanor weapons offenses in Michigan. Abou-Arabi refused to provide a motive during the investigation and trial.

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