Man says accused killer seemed 'real nice'

FLINT, Mich., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A man who survived a stabbing by an accused serial killer said at a preliminary hearing in Flint, Mich., Friday his attacker was "a real nice guy at first."

Richard Thomas Booker testified in the case of Elias Abuelazam, who is accused of killing three men and attacking others in the Flint area.

Booker said he was walking home from a store when Abuelazam pulled up in his sport utility vehicle and asked for help opening the hood, the Detroit Free Press reported.

"He was a real nice guy at first," Booker testified, identifying Abuelazam in court as his attacker.

Abuelazam grabbed him by the neck and stuck a long knife into his liver, Booker testified.

Struggling with his attacker, Booker managed to break loose and stagger home, he said.

Abuelazam, 34, was bound over to Genesee County Circuit Court on one count of assault with intent to murder in Booker's attack.

Abuelazam faces three murder charges and five assault with intent to murder charges in the Flint area in a rampage that spread into Virginia and Ohio.

Earlier this month, he was charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of a church custodian in Toledo, Ohio, the Free Press reported.