Man wanted for murder in Colorado sentenced to life for fatal stabbing of friend in Houston, DA says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A man wanted for a woman’s murder in Colorado was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of fatally stabbing an acquaintance and stealing his car in Houston in 2019, the district attorney’s office announced.

Abbas Abdal Abed, 47, was convicted by a jury last Thursday for the stabbing death of 29-year-old Abdulrahman Haris on Dec. 15.

According to records, Abed fled to Houston following the alleged killing of 31-year-old Chelsea Anne Snider at an extended-stay hotel in Sheridan, a suburb of Denver.

Reports said that Abed worked for Uber, and Snider was a mother of three. It is unclear of the relationship between them.

Abed came to the area after once living here and knowing several people, including Haris. Both were from Iraq and came to Houston around the same time before Abed moved.

Haris reportedly gave Abed money and drove him to a Wal-Mart in southwest Houston near Sam Houston Parkway. Abed then stabbed Haris, who was seen on surveillance video running for help in the parking lot, before Abed took off with the vehicle.

Haris later died from wounds in the neck and the abdomen.

The Houston Police Department located Abed two weeks later at a west Houston food pantry.

According to police, a security guard recognized Abed from flyers that the US Marshals put around, noting him as a suspect in a murder in Colorado.

“Houston is a big and diverse city, and someone on the run may think they can hide out here. But the cohesiveness of our community is our strength, and we will find and prosecute fugitives,” Ogg said. “It is a tragedy that a young man lost his life because someone he barely knew was trying to escape any responsibility and accountability.”

The murder case in Colorado is pending, officials said.

The district attorney said Abed must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.