On June 13, 2020, two community activists local to the Tallahassee area, 19-year old Oluwatoyin Salau and 75-year old Victoria Sims, were found murdered in Tallahassee, Florida. The suspect, Aaron Glee Jr., who was 49 at the time of the murders, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and

felony murder The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in s ...

among other charges. Prosecutors are seeking the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

Oluwatoyin Salau

Salau was born on August 27, 2000, in Tallahassee, Florida. She was a

Nigerian-American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

, A devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, she was the youngest member of her church choir whilst growing up. Salau attended Buck Lake Elementary School and Swift Creek Middle School in Tallahassee, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 2018. Following graduation, she studied cosmetology at Lively Technical College, simultaneously starting her business in hairdressing and modeling. In 2019, Salau enrolled at Tallahassee Community College while still at Lively, intending to study law at Florida A&M University thereafter. Salau disappeared on Saturday, June 6, 2020, shortly after tweeting about being sexually assaulted. Salau was found murdered in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday, June 13, 2020, and her death was confirmed on Monday, June 15, 2020. Salau was an active participant in the

2020 Black Lives Matter protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and Civil disorder, civil unrest against Police brutality in the United States, police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. Th ...

in Tallahassee, Florida, described as an "emerging leader" and "prominent voice" in the movement. She had advocated on behalf of

Tony McDade On May 27, 2020, after 11 a.m., a 38-year-old African-American transgender man, Tony McDade, was fatally shot in the Leon Arms apartment complex by an officer of the Tallahassee Police Department, following the fatal stabbing of Malik Jackson o ...

in particular.

Salau's disappearance and discovery of bodies

Shortly before her disappearance, on June 6, 2020, she tweeted that she was sexually assaulted by a black man after he offered to give her a ride back to a church where she sought refuge because of unjust living conditions. She was last seen alive on June 10, 2020. After a search by community residents, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, and Tallahassee Police Department, her body was found on June 14, 2020 around 9:15 pm local time near Monday Road in southeastern Tallahassee. Salau's body was discovered with that of Victoria Sims, a 75-year-old who had been active in local politics. Salau was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Tallahassee.

Suspect

The suspect in Salau and Sims's deaths, Aaron Glee Jr., was arrested in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

during the early hours of June 14 and charged with murder and kidnapping. Glee later confessed to the murder and rape of Salau. The bodies of Salau and Sims were found near his rental home in Tallahassee the night before. He had been arrested previously, less than a month prior, for aggravated battery after a police officer saw him kicking a woman in the stomach when she refused his sexual advances.

Reaction

''RIP Toyin'' and ''Toyin'' trended on Twitter alongside the hashtag #JusticeForToyin after the news went out that Salau's body had been found.

Abike Dabiri Abike Kafayat Oluwatoyin Dabiri-Erewa (born 10 October 1962 ) is a Nigerian politician and former member of the Nigeria Federal House of Representatives representing Ikorodu Constituency in Lagos State. She was the Chairman of the House Committee ...

, chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission called on the U.S. Government to ensure a thorough investigation of Salau's murder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salau, Oluwatoyin George Floyd protests in the United States American people of Yoruba descent Yoruba people History of Tallahassee, Florida Women deaths Female murder victims Violence against women in the United States Sexual assaults in the United States Lincoln High School (Tallahassee, Florida) alumni