A 43-year-old Somali man, Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, was convicted of the 2019 killing of Jessica McCormick, his Missouri girlfriend. He kidnapped her and her children, killed her, stuffed her in a pink suitcase, and then abandoned the kids before leaving the country.
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According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri, McCormick called 911 on July 16, 2019. The woman reported that Mahamed had held her at knifepoint and attempted to force her to have sex with him at their Noel apartment in Missouri.
Additionally, McCormick was worried that Mahamed would harm her three children, a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a 6-month-old, who were present at the apartment with them. The following day, on July 17, 2019, McCormick and her children were reported missing.
Less than two weeks later, on July 29, 2019, an individual reported to the police that he had observed a “pink suitcase in a roadside ditch with feet sticking out.” Authorities responded to the area near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan and Noel. There, they found McCormick’s “severely decomposing body” lying next to the pink suitcase.
Children Found, Mahamed Convicted
On July 28 or July 29, 2019, Mahamed contacted a cousin of his. He said he was bringing the children to her. When asked about it, Mahamed said “something bad had happened and he could be in trouble,” according to the release.
A plea agreement obtained by Law & Crime detailed that Mahamed’s cousin refused to take in the children. She gave him cash for a hotel room instead. Mahamed ended up taking them to a friend’s house in Des Moines, Iowa.
The friend said Mahamed had arrived with the children on August 5, 2019. Three days later, Mahamed left without the children and left the United States for Guatemala. The children were taken into state custody on August 8, 2019.
Almost two years later, on July 27, 2021, Mahamed was expelled from Guatemala and returned to the United States, and has been detained in federal custody ever since.
On Friday, August 22, 2025, Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping resulting in death. He faces a life sentence without parole, and his sentencing hearing is yet to be scheduled.