Who is Ahmad Bojeh? Man accused of killing 3 tourists in Kissimmee fuels insanity defense controversy

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man, accused of killing three tourists renting a home in his neighborhood, was previously charged with murder, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

What we know:

Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, is accused of killing three people in Kissimmee on Jan. 17.

The Osceola County Sheriff says it was premeditated, but that he didn't know the victims – calling the shooting "cold-blooded." 

Three men visiting from Michigan and Ohio and staying in a Kissimmee rental home were shot and killed on Jan. 17. 

Bojeh ran into the neighboring home after the shooting, witnesses told deputies. While deputies were executing a search warrant for blood, Bojeh loudly refused compliance, demanded an attorney and physically tensed and resisted, an arrest affidavit said. He continued to yell slurs and profanities at law enforcement, the affidavit said. 

Deputies also found two pistols hidden under his bed. Those guns matched the .45 and .38 caliber rounds deputies say they found at the crime scene.

Bojeh was charged with three counts of first-degree murder with a firearm. 

Officials said Bojeh made his first court appearance and was denied bond.

Acquitted for attempted murder by insanity plea

FOX 35 learned that Bojeh was previously charged with attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, aggravated battery and two counts of criminal mischief in 2021.

Bojeh spent less than a year and a half locked up. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

That’s an affirmative defense, meaning Bojeh and his attorney admit he committed the crime. However, the statute explains, because of a mental illness, he either didn’t understand the consequences or didn’t know what he did was wrong. 

The court approved outpatient mental health treatment rather than committing Bojeh to a state mental health facility, ruling that he did not meet the legal standard of being "manifestly dangerous" at the time.

READ MORE: Florida AG Uthmeier blames 2022 release of current triple-murder suspect on ‘lack of fight’ by prosecutors

The State Attorney’s Office and Bojeh’s defense attorney agreed to skip a jury trial and let a judge make the ruling solo. They also stipulated for Bojeh to get outpatient treatment instead of being committed to a State Mental Health Facility.

41 calls for service at Bojeh's parents' home

Following his release, court records said Bojeh lived with his parents in their home on Indian Point Circle in 2004 – near the rental home where the three men were murdered. 

The Oceola County Sheriff's office received 41 calls for service for that address, with the calls starting from September 2006 to April 2022, the sheriff's office said. 

"Of the 41 calls, 16 involved Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, the majority of when he was a minor," the sheriff's office said. "… These 41 calls do not include any calls that may have been made by residents in the area." 

The majority of the calls were from Bojeh's father saying that his son wouldn't go to school or was being aggressive to his family, deputies said. 

Other troubles in the Bojeh family

In a letter to a judge in 2020, Bojeh’s father wrote that one of Bojeh’s brothers sought treatment at that same facility for bipolar schizoaffective disorder, saying, "He spends most of his time in the garage screaming, sometimes laughing. You can’t open a discussion with him."

In another letter to a judge, Jihad Bojeh wrote that his son, "has been sitting home since 2014. He has no income or any source of support. I am the only one who is taking care of him. My income is very limited. I support my wife, she’s sick, no work, no income."

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A neighbor of the Bojeh family also told FOX 35’s Ahmad Bojeh’s mother had fallen extremely ill a few years ago.

Bojeh himself had other run-ins with law enforcement as well. As an 18-year-old, he was already on probation for drug charges when he was arrested yet again for possession of drugs and paraphernalia. Deputies caught him when they tracked stolen goods to his home. At that time, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said he was a suspect in several burglaries that happened within walking distance of his home.

3 killed in premeditated shooting

Three men visiting from Michigan and Ohio and staying in a Kissimmee rental home were shot and killed on Jan. 17. 

Brothers Robert Luis Kraft, 69, of Holland, Michigan and Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Columbus, Ohio and their friend James Puchan, 68, from Ohio were in Kissimmee attending a Mecum Car Show.

While waiting for help with rental car trouble and preparing to travel home, the men were approached by an unknown person. 

The three men were shot and killed by Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, who lived in the area, the Osceola County Sheriff's office said. 

"There were no known interactions between the men and this individual prior to the event; they were then approached and senselessly murdered. This was a random, tragic act," the Kraft brothers and Puchan's family said. 

Their families issued a statement on behalf of their spouses, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and friends.

"These three wonderful men did not deserve this. Our families are left with an unexpected, unimaginable loss that cannot be put into words. We ask for privacy, prayers, and respect as we mourn and begin to process this tragedy," the family said in a joint statement. 

What we don't know:

Former Ninth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. said insanity pleas are rarely successful and noted that Bojeh could again pursue such a defense. However, Perry said it would be more difficult this time to argue that Bojeh does not pose a danger to himself or others.

"If committed, that commitment would be reviewed annually until a court determines he is no longer mentally ill," Perry said.

Crime and Public Safety