A Florida neo-Nazi who became a Muslim admitted to having killed his roommates on Monday for disobeying his religion. Devon Arthurs, now 24 years old confessed to being responsible for the 2017 shooting murders of Jeremy Himmelman and Andrew Onseschuck inside a Tampa apartment and consented to a sentence of 45 years in prison.
Before Arthurs converted to Islam and abandoned his ‘racist views’, he and his two roommates, Jeremy Himmelman, 18, and Andrew Oneschuk, 22 were members of the Atomwaffen Divison, a neo-Nazi organisation. Arthurs confessed to having executed the murder on May 19, 2017.
During interrogation, the accused said to the police that he was being teased by his roommates for his new religion. He also alleged that the victims were planning bombing attacks. Additionally, he said that Muslim nations were being bombarded and that he intended the killings to highlight anti-Muslim prejudice.
“I had to do it. This wouldn’t have had to happen if your country didn’t bomb my country,” he told the detectives. Inside the house which Arthurs shared with the victims, investigators discovered weapons, explosives, and racial literature.
Police first encountered Arthurs after he took three people hostage inside a smoke shop. He admitted to the authorities that he originally resisted releasing the inmates because he was angry over American aggressiveness in the Middle East. Eventually, police liberated the hostages and detained Arthurs. When he was 18 years old, Arthurs told the authorities that he had killed his roommates and taken them to their graves.
Another flatmate named Brandon Russell was sobbing in front of the house when the responding cops arrived. The former member of the National Guard was later detained by police for having an armoury inside the house; he was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
After his release in February of last year, he was detained again and accused of plotting terrorist acts against electrical grid infrastructure. The matter is still pending in the court of law. Police reported that Arthurs used a WASR 10 assault weapon to shoot Himmelman, 22, and Oneschuk, 18.
When submitting his plea on Monday, he apologized for the killings and told the court that he intended to spend the rest of his life fighting violent radicalism. “I’d like to take this moment to tell the world to stay away from extremist groups. I’m very sorry for everyone that was involved. I’m very sorry for everything that has happened,” Arthurs said.
As Arthurs’ solicitors contended that he had schizophrenia and other challenges, the trial was repeatedly postponed. But once the court determined he was mentally competent, the lawsuit was permitted to continue.