(NewsNation) — A kidnapping case in Oregon that began with a woman escaping her captor is expansive and growing larger by the day, according to the FBI.
Tips have been flooding in since the arrest of Negasi Zuberi, including information from potential victims all over the country.
Since FBI agents in Oregon announced the case last week, including Zuberi’s ties to ten states using various aliases, the FBI has been able to determine that he spent time in Chicago in January of 2019 and in Ecorse, Michigan in April of 2017.
That brings the total to a dozen states where there may be potential victims.
The FBI has not said how many tips about potential victims have come in, but they told NewsNation information is matching up to the multiple states where he has spent time, along with the rough timeline which appears to overlap, since he was often on the move.
Tips are also coming from people who have information about Zuberi, who has used several aliases over the past decade, including Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi, as well as the name Sakima.
In 2019, he appeared as Justin Hyche in an episode of “Judge Judy” with his longtime partner Alycia Westfall, the mother of his two children.
Before the family moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon, they rented a townhome in Vancouver, Washington, where multiple neighbors were clearly relieved Zuberi moved away.
He reportedly had run-ins with various neighbors who complained about his subleasing of living spaces inside the home and piles of trash outside.
Four assaults are allegedly linked to Zuberi already, including a case in Oakland, California, in 2020. According to court documents, he was accused of attacking and raping a 16-year-old girl, then throwing the girl and her belongings out of his car.
Zuberi is now accused of kidnapping a Seattle woman, who he allegedly held in a cinder block cell in his Oregon home. He now faces interstate kidnapping and other charges. Investigators said Zuberi impersonated an undercover officer to kidnap the woman, a sex worker, on July 15, holding her hostage until she was able to break free while he was away.
The woman flagged down a motorist for help, triggering what has now become a massive investigation involving a dozen states.
Zuberi remains in the custody of U.S. Marshalls in Reno, Nevada, where he was arrested last week. It could take between three and six weeks to have him extradited to Oregon.
