On June 13, 2020, two community activists local to the Tallahassee, Florida area — 19-year-old Oluwatoyin Salau and 75-year-old Victoria Sims — were found murdered. Salau, born August 27, 2000, in Tallahassee, was Nigerian-American and a devout Christian who had grown up as the youngest member of her church choir. She attended Buck Lake Elementary School, Swift Creek Middle School, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 2018. She went on to study cosmetology at Lively Technical College while starting a hairdressing and modeling business, and in 2019 also enrolled at Tallahassee Community College with plans to later study law at Florida A&M University. Salau was an active participant in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Tallahassee, described as an "emerging leader" and "prominent voice" in the movement, and had advocated on behalf of Tony McDade.
Salau disappeared on Saturday, June 6, 2020, shortly after tweeting that she had been sexually assaulted by a man who had offered her a ride back to a church where she had sought refuge due to unjust living conditions. She was last seen alive on June 10, 2020. Following a search involving community residents, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, and the Tallahassee Police Department, her body was found on June 14, 2020, around 9:15 p.m. local time near Monday Road in southeastern Tallahassee. Her death was confirmed on June 15, 2020. Her body was discovered alongside that of Victoria Sims, a 75-year-old woman who had been active in local politics; Sims' home was found vandalized. Salau was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Tallahassee.
The suspect, Aaron Glee Jr., who was 49 at the time of the murders, was arrested in Orlando, Florida, in the early hours of June 14, 2020, and charged with murder and kidnapping, among other charges. The bodies of Salau and Sims were found near his rental home in Tallahassee the night before his arrest. Glee had been arrested less than a month earlier for aggravated battery after a police officer observed him kicking a woman in the stomach when she refused his sexual advances. He later confessed to the murder and rape of Salau.
In January 2023, Glee rejected a proposed plea deal for life imprisonment without parole in lieu of the death penalty, which prosecutors had originally sought. He subsequently pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping. On September 22, 2023, Glee was sentenced to life in prison.
The case drew national and international attention. "RIP Toyin" and "Toyin" trended on Twitter alongside the hashtag #JusticeForToyin. Abike Dabiri, chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, called on the U.S. government to ensure a thorough investigation of Salau's murder. Nigerian American rapper Wale paid tribute to Salau in the outro of his song "Shit Don't Stop," part of his 2020 EP "The Imperfect Storm," released during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
Credit: Florida State University (institutional portrait), as published by Fox NewsEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListen
