Suspect arrested in murder of Hurricane Ida evacuee who fled to Charlotte, police say
The suspect in the killing of a woman who evacuated to Charlotte from Hurricane Ida was arrested in Greensboro on Thursday, authorities said.
Gabryelle Allnutt, 29, was robbed and killed in northeast Charlotte early Monday, police said at the time without disclosing how she died.
Police launched a manhunt for 29-year-old Malek Moore after obtaining warrants charging him with murder, first-degree burglary and kidnapping, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department news release.
Just after 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Greensboro police officers arrested Moore on East Market Street. A resident called police with information on Moore’s whereabouts, according to a news release from Greensboro police.
Moore was taken into custody without incident, the FBI said. He was taken to Guilford County Jail without bail and will be served with outstanding warrants from Mecklenburg County, CMPD said.
Allnutt’s body was found in the 400 block of East 22nd Street, a block north of Cordelia Park, CMPD said.
She was an artist who evacuated to Charlotte from New Orleans to escape Hurricane Ida, CMPD Capt. Joel McNelly said during a news conference Tuesday. The Observer confirmed that she had worked at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.
Police are “confident” Moore is responsible for two other crimes that happened before and after Allnutt’s death, McNelly said.
On Sunday, shortly before noon, a victim was “punched in the face with a closed fist “on the greenway near the 2100 block of North Davidson Street and Cordelia Park, police said.
On the same day, shortly before 10 p.m., Allnutt was killed on East 22nd Street, McNelly said.
Monday morning, The Exchange at 36th Street was broken into and property stolen from within the NoDa market, police said.
Greensboro police also obtained warrants charging Moore with first-degree murder in a Sept. 3 homicide, according to the department.
Christian Mbimba, 21, from Nashville, Tenn., was found dead that day on Patterson Street in Greensboro, police said.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 3:43 PM.