Aggravated murder charge added in woman’s death

A Northwest Side man has been indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on murder and other charges in the killing of a 23-yearold woman whose body was dumped in an Upper Arlington park and set on fire.

Mohamed Abdullahi, 27, was charged in county Common Pleas Court on Wednesday with aggravated murder, murder, arson, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse and operating a vehicle while impaired. He was already jailed on the charges of abuse of a corpse and arson filed by Upper Arlington police.

Abdullahi is accused of killing Bobbie Simpson, placing her body in a Abdullahi container and setting the container on fire in Burbank Park.

The fire was found a short time later on Oct. 14 by people walking through the park.

Abdullahi was identified as a suspect through a DNA match from evidence collected from Simpson’s hand.

Upper Arlington police pulled Abdullahi over on Oct. 22 in the area of West North Broadway and Shattuck Avenue on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence and several traffic violations. When questioned by detectives about Simpson’s death, Abdullahi made incriminating statements about Simpson’s arm being cut off, a detail that had not been released to the media, according to court records.

“Not only did this man murder this young woman, but he also set her body on fire in a park in Upper Arlington in order to avoid detection for the crimes he had committed,” Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said in a news release.

Abdullahi remained in the Franklin County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of a $1 million bond. He is scheduled to have an initial court appearance on the murder and other new charges Friday.