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 among other charges. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping to avoid the death penalty, which the prosecution sought. Glee was sentenced to life in prison on September 22, 2023.[1]
Oluwatoyin Salau
Salau was born on August 27, 2000, in Tallahassee, Florida.[3] She was Nigerian-American.[4][5] A devout Christian, she was the youngest member of her church choir whilst growing up.[3]
Salau attended Buck Lake Elementary School and Swift Creek Middle School in Tallahassee,[3] and graduated from Lincoln High School in 2018.[6] Following graduation, she studied cosmetology at Lively Technical College, simultaneously starting her business in hairdressing and modeling.[3] In 2019, Salau enrolled at Tallahassee Community College while still at Lively, intending to study law at Florida A&M University thereafter.[3]
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,[7][8][9] and her death was confirmed on Monday, June 15, 2020.[9]
Salau was an active participant in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Tallahassee, Florida, described as an “emerging leader”[10] and “prominent voice”[11] in the movement. She had advocated on behalf of Tony McDade in particular.[10]
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.[13][14] She was last seen alive on June 10, 2020.[15]
After a search by community residents, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, and Tallahassee Police Department,[16][17][18][19][20] her body was found on June 14, 2020[8] around 9:15 pm local time near Monday Road in southeastern Tallahassee.[21] Salau’s body was discovered with that of Victoria Sims, a 75-year-old who had been active in local politics.[21][22] Sims’ home was found vandalized.[23]
Salau was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Tallahassee.[5]
Accused
The suspect in Salau and Sims’s deaths, Aaron Glee Jr., was arrested in Orlando, Florida during the early hours of June 14 and charged with murder and kidnapping.[20] Glee later confessed to the murder and rape of Salau.[24]
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.[25]
In January 2023, Glee rejected a proposed plea deal by the prosecution for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty as they had originally sought.[26] He later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping. On September 22, 2023, Glee was sentenced to life in prison.[1]
Reaction
”RIP Toyin” and ”Toyin” trended on Twitter alongside the hashtag #JusticeForToyin after the news went out that Salau’s body had been found.[7][27] Abike Dabiri, chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission called on the U.S. Government to ensure a thorough investigation of Salau’s murder.[4]
Nigerian American rapper, Wale, pays respect to Oluwatoyin at the end of his song “Shit Don’t Stop”. In the outro, the lyrics goes “We just lost a young Nigerian girl to some bullshit. Do better (Oluwatoyin), We together (Oluwatoyin), Won’t Stop (Oluwatoyin)”. The song was a part of his 2020 EP “The Imperfect Storm” that was released amidst the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.[28]
Credit by: Reddit.com