OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell spoke Thursday at the Osceola County Courthouse, where she announced a grand jury had indicted Ahmad Jihad Bojeh that morning with three counts of first-degree murder.
Bojeh is accused of killing three tourists at an Airbnb in Kissimmee on Jan. 17.
The victims were visitors from Ohio attending a local car show. They were identified as Robert Lewis Kraft, 70, of Holland, Michigan; Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Columbus, Ohio; and James John Puchan, 69, of Columbus, Ohio.
After the shooting, deputies said Bojeh was quickly located and ran to his home next door to the rental property where the men were staying.
Bojeh in 2021 was arrested and accused of shooting at a person and random cars in a Kissimmee gas station’s parking lot, but court records show he was later acquitted by reason of insanity and barred from owning a gun.
[VIDEO: 3 tourists shot dead in random Osceola County attack]
During her remarks, Worrell addressed what she called misinformation regarding the filing of first-degree murder charges in the case, leading up to Thursday’s announcement.
“There was information that although law enforcement filed charges of first-degree murder, that our office failed to file those charges. It’s important that the media and the public, through the media, understand how the filing of first-degree murder charges works under Florida law. In a capital-eligible case, prosecutors are not permitted to file first -degree murder charges until the case has been presented to a grand jury and an indictment is returned,” Worrell said soon before announcing the grand jury’s decision. “That is a statutory requirement and not a policy decision.”
According to Worrell, now that an indictment is returned, the case will be considered by the prosecutor as to whether it should be turned over to the Ninth Circuit’s capital case review panel. Should the decision ultimately be made to seek capital punishment, Worrell said a formal notice of intent to do so will be filed in accordance with state law.
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