Negasi Zuberi was on his way to become a serial killer?

The FBI’s Portland Field Office is asking for the public’s help in identifying potential victims of an alleged violent sex assault offender who has lived in at least 10 states. 

Twenty-nine-year-old, Negasi Zuberi (a.k.a. “Sakima,” “Justin Hyche” and “Justin Kouassi”), is in federal custody for interstate kidnapping after a Washington woman escaped his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon, claiming she was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell. 

According to court records, on July 15, 2023, Zuberi traveled from his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon, to Seattle, where he solicited the services of a prostitute, he then posed as an undercover police officer. The victim told investigators that he pointed a taser at her and placed her in handcuffs and leg irons and put her in the back seat of his car. He then traveled roughly 450 miles with the woman, sexually assaulting her during the trip.

According to the victim, once he arrived at his home in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Zuberi moved her into a makeshift cell that he had constructed in his garage. The cell was made of cinder blocks and a metal door installed in reverse so it could not be opened from the inside. Once Zuberi left, the victim says she repeatedly banged on the door and was able to break the door open and escape the room. She was able to flag down a passing motorist who called 9-1-1.

Klamath Falls Police Department obtained a search warrant for Zuberi’s residence and found the makeshift cell described by the victim.

Inside the home, law enforcement also recovered handwritten notes including one that said “Operation take over” with the bullet points “leave phone at home” and “make sure they don’t have a bunch of people in their life. You don’t want any type of investigation,” the complaint said.

Zuberi fled and was located in Reno, Nevada, where he was taken into custody after a brief standoff with local police. 

He was in a car, holding one of his children in the front seat, speaking with his wife who was outside the car in a Walmart parking lot when officials located him last month.

“He refused to exit the vehicle and cut himself with a sharp object causing him to bleed profusely. He also attempted to destroy his phone,” the complaint said. The child was unharmed, the document said.

After a 45-minute standoff, he was taken into custody.

According to the complaint, this woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell. Police say, she beat the door with her hands until they were bloody in order to break free. Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare,” says Assistant Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Shark of the FBI Portland Field Office. “We are fortunate that this brave woman escaped and alerted authorities. Through quick law enforcement action, we were able to get Zuberi in custody the next day. While she may have helped protect future victims, sadly we have now linked Zuberi to additional violent sexual assaults in at least four states, and there could be more.”

Zuberi has lived in ten states over the last 10 years, and FBI investigators have reason to believe there could be additional sexual assault victims. 

The FBI’s investigation has extended to multiple states where Zuberi previously resided between August of 2016 and today. Those states could include California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama, and Nevada.

Victims may know Zuberi by the name “Sakima,” and it is believed he may have used several different methods to gain control of his victims, including by drugging their drinks and impersonating a police officer.  

The victims are often threatened with retaliation if they notify the police.

While nothing is being said about Zuberi’s motive, it is feared that the suspect may have filmed his sexual assaults in order to sell them on the dark web.

It has also been reported after threatening his victims, the suspect may have filmed some assaults to make them look like consensual.

It is still not known whether his wife knew about his criminal activities.

While it’s still not known whether he killed any of his victims, his decision to target a prostitute hints towards a tendency which is often found is serial killers.

Most serial killers target vulnerable people. These are often young people who have high-risk lifestyles, especially sex workers. From 2009-2019, 43% of serial killer victims in the US were known to be sex workers.

Zeberi might be on his way to become a serial killer even if he hasn’t yet killed any of his victims.

According to a report, active serial killers only account for 0.000015%.

data collected between 1990 and 2020 World Population Review discovered that the area with the highest rate of serial killer murders was Washington DC, with Alaska coming in second and Louisiana third. Over this time Hawaii, New Hampshire and North Dakota had the lowest rates of serial homicides.