(NewsNation) — One woman said she is alive only because she convinced a suspect accused of bludgeoning a woman to death to care about her. That suspect is now accused of crimes in three states.

Raad Almansoori, 26, is accused of bludgeoning 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia to death at the SoHo 54 Hotel in New York City.

Leah Palian told NewsNation she is only alive because she convinced Almansoori she cared about him after he nearly choked her to death and sexually assaulted her.

The pair worked together at a restaurant in Orlando, Florida, and she said the attack came after she allowed Almansoori to stay at her home last April. Palian said she convinced him she wouldn’t tell anyone what he did, and they eventually left and went to a nearby 7-Eleven store.

At the store, Palian barricaded herself in the bathroom and called 911. He was charged with aggravated assault but posted bail and was set free.

Palian said Almansoori sent her a text message around the time of Oleas-Arancibia’s death.

“Why did you treat me that way?” the text read, according to Palian. “You should never treat a man like that. I never deserved to be treated that way.”

Palian said Almansoori should never have been released from jail.

“I was so paranoid and so afraid that he was going to be able to track me down and he was going to be able to come and get revenge,” she told NewsNation. “I was so afraid he would track me down and kill me.”

After Oleas-Arancibia’s death, Almansoori flew to Arizona, where he is accused of stabbing two people.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has lashed out at Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell for refusing to extradite Almansoori back to New York.

Bragg called it a form of grandstanding and politics.

“It is deeply disturbing to me that a member of my profession would choose to play political games in a murder case,” he said.