Chloe Randolph disappeared several hours after calling her father, Jay, on 23rd March 2019. Her estranged husband, Mohamud Abdikadir, and their infant son were also not in their hometown of Henderson, Kentucky. Concerned authorities performed a welfare check at Chloe’s last known location: Mohamud’s apartment.
Chloe Randolph’s dead body was found in a utility closet in her estranged husband’s apartment
Chloe Randolph and Mohamud Abdikadir, a Somali national who immigrated to the United States, had a whirlwind romance. They moved into a duplex in July 2017, several months after their first encounter. A short while later, Chloe and Mohamud were married.
A month after the nuptials, Chloe announced she was pregnant. On the outside, Chloe and Mohamud had a perfect relationship. However, Mohamud seemingly lost interest in Chloe after she became pregnant. A week after their son’s birth, Mohamud moved out. In October 2018, about a year into the couple’s marriage, Mohamud filed for divorce.
On 23rd March 2019, Chloe went to Mohamud’s apartment to pick her son up. She feared that Mohamud would flee Kentucky with the baby boy.
No one answered the door when the police arrived to perform a welfare check on Chloe at Mohamud’s apartment. Unbeknownst to them, Chloe was dead, and Mohamud was 300 miles away in West Memphis, Arkansas. The authorities found Chloe’s body in a utility closet inside the apartment.
The autopsy revealed that Chloe’s cause of death was a slit throat. It also uncovered blunt force trauma to the front and back of Chloe’s head. The coroner concluded that the manner of death was homicide.
Mohamud eventually admitted to killing Chloe; he is serving a 20-year sentence
Mohamud was the prime suspect in the murder of Chloe Randolph. He had the means, motive, and opportunity to kill her.
He initially accused his friend, Isaac, of the crime. However, there was no evidence linking Isaac to the crime. Mohamud then stated that he and Chloe were fighting when she fell on a knife and died. However, the evidence told a different story.
Mohamud eventually confessed to the murder. He alleged that he lost control while arguing with Chloe, hitting her on the head twice with a hammer. After Chloe passed out, he sliced her throat with a knife and stuffed her body in a closet.
Mohamud was extradited to Kentucky to face murder and tampering with evidence charges. Despite the callousness of his actions, Mohamud didn’t qualify for the death penalty. Commonwealth attorney Bill Markwell told The Gleaner (via azcentral):
“The majority of murder cases involve an individual death and don’t have the other aggravators. So the maximum penalty – no matter how horrendous the act – is 20 to life. The killing in this case, we believe, shows it was intentional, but it doesn’t have the other aggravators.”
Mohamud was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He is incarcerated at Northpoint Training Center in Kentucky and will be eligible for parole in March 2036. Chloe’s mother, Kristie, opined that the sentence was too lenient:
“20 years will never be enough for her death. She didn’t deserve what she got that day. She was 20-years-old, she at that time had a nine-month-old son – he’s now three. She will miss out on all of his firsts. Unfortunately that’s what that sentence in Kentucky carries, and we’re just hoping that going forward we can change that for future victims.”
The Chloe Randolph Organization works to raise awareness about domestic violence
“We have learned so much since March 23, 2019,” Jay, Chloe’s father, said after Mohamud’s sentencing. “Henderson had nothing, they didn’t have a victims’ advocacy, they didn’t have a shelter here, there was no transitional housing – there was nothing. We just couldn’t allow another family in the state of Kentucky to deal with that.”
Jay and Kristie run The Chloe Randolph Organization, whose mission is ‘bringing awareness, education, and advocacy to the fight against domestic violence in our community’. “Our hope is that through sharing the tragedy of Chloe’s story we may raise awareness to the realities of Domestic Violence,” the organization’s website reads.
The couple also advocated for the passing of The Chloe Randolph Bill, which changed the law on a deceased person’s burial rights. Jay and Kristie were initially barred from burying Chloe as Kentucky law gave burial rights to the spouse. The Chloe Randolph Bill denies burial rights to anyone arrested for or charged with causing the deceased’s death.