The Gazette uses Instaread to provide audio versions of its articles. Some words might not be spoken correctly.
IOWA CITY After crossing the Iowa Memorial Union pedestrian bridge, an Iowa City woman who was robbed and beaten on the University of Iowa campus in 2022 testified Tuesday that she felt like someone was pursuing her.
It was cold on April 25, 2022, so Anne Rizzo, who typically walked home late from her family’s business, Hands Jewelers, said she regrettably chose to cut across the grass toward Art Building West, 141 N. Riverside Dr., in Iowa City. Then, since she was in the boardwalk area beside the art building’s pond and couldn’t readily leave, she thought she might be in trouble.
In an attempt to get the man who would later be identified as Ali Younes to back off, Rizzo quickened her pace and made eye contact. Younes kept up his pursuit and soon came up to her. She was unable to shout. Nothing was revealed.
According to Rizzo, Younes tackled her from behind like a football player. He was on top of her as she collapsed, straddling me and putting her on her back before he began strangling her.
Rizzo remarked, “I will always remember him on top of me.”
This week, 22-year-old Ali Younes is on trial in Johnson County District Court on counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree stealing, and attempted murder. Judge Kevin McKeever of the 6th Judicial District will render the decision in this bench trial because Younes forfeited his right to a jury trial.
Following the conclusion of testimony on Thursday, McKeever will issue a written decision, probably within a few months.
She could feel his hands around neck
According to Rizzo’s testimony, she felt Younes’ hands around her neck and attempted to tighten her neck muscles to prevent her airway from closing.
When he began pressing back after she pushed against him, she stopped in the hopes that he wouldn’t injure her any more. At the time, Rizzo weighed approximately 110 pounds and stood 5 feet 3 inches tall.
While being choked, Rizzo was unable to speak, but she slowly mouthed. She told Younes, “I’ll give you anything you want more than once.”
She briefly lost consciousness before remembering that she had been leaning on a woman who had discovered her following the assault.
According to Rizzo, she was afraid for her life. She remembered being hurt. She was bewildered, unable to talk, and experiencing neck and throat pain. It wasn’t until she was in the emergency hospital that Rizzo realized her diamond earrings, which were a present from her husband and were worth roughly $25,000.
By the time she was brought to the hospital, she had a black eye, but she also didn’t recall getting hit in the eye.
In her earlier testimony, Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmerman Smith displayed pictures of Rizzo taken approximately ten days after the assault. Her eye was black, and both the inside and the outside were swollen. Along with bruising and abrasions on the right side of her face and temporal area, Rizzo also had red finger marks around her neck.
Two women who were UI students at the time of the attack and were studying in the arts building that evening testified earlier on Tuesday that they saw a woman later identified as Rizzo lying on the ground, unconscious, and standing over her when they left through the back door.
According to Madeline Amos’ testimony, Younes pointed to Rizzo and claimed that she was walking when she fell when he noticed her and her friend Katherine Kavars approaching. Younes fled after telling them he would dial 911. They quickly understood that he would not dial 911.
Amos recognized the man as wearing a puffy jacket and having dark, curly hair. Rizzo, according to Amos, was unconscious but breathing. She requested that Kavars dial 911. When Rizzo attempted to sit up, Amos held her against him while she waited for the paramedics to come. She had trouble speaking and was confused.
According to Kavars, Rizzo was able to provide a paramedic with her first name and informed him that she had been strangled.
Video evidence
Detective Ian Mallory of the University of Iowa Police Department also testified that he was able to identify security footage from many campus cameras that seemed to capture Younes that evening.
Approximately 9:56 p.m., Younes exited Burge Resident Hall, crossed the Hancher Auditorium foot bridge to the west, proceeded down Riverside Drive, and appeared to be pursuing a woman as she crossed the Iowa Memorial foot bridge, according to the video. Rizzo was then seen on camera crossing the bridge in the other direction. He turned and began to pursue Rizzo once she had passed Younes.
Younes began to jog approximately 94 feet behind Rizzo, according to Mallory, who measured and computed the distance using the video. Rizzo was then seen on the video taking a shortcut, going northwest in the direction of the arts building.
As Younes got closer, he could be seen glancing in her direction.
The next scene on the video showed Younes leaving the scene of the attack. Before returning to Burge Hall, he paused for a little while after he heard or saw police approaching.
Following the charges, Younes’ bond was lowered and he was placed under house arrest with GPS tracking at his parents’ property in Sutherland, Iowa, according to Mallory, who has been involved in the investigation. Younges disconnected his monitor on May 6, 2023, and he and his grandma fled to Jordan.After assisting him, his parents were found guilty of evasion.
Mallory claimed that he used email and other messaging apps to stay in touch with Younes. Younes would occasionally communicate several times a day, and at other times, there may be days or weeks between exchanges.
Since the United States and Jordan do not have an extradition treaty, Mallory was attempting to persuade Younes to return to Iowa on his own.
Before Younes consented to self-surrender in Chicago in August 2024, the correspondence lasted for roughly a year. After that, he was returned to Iowa by extradition.
Younes confessed to the robbery and assault when Mallory interviewed him when he got to Iowa. Younes remembered his first girlfriend, but he had no interest in her. Then he attacked Rizzo after spotting her. Younes acknowledged encircling her neck with his hands.
He assured Mallory that it had nothing to do with sex. He believed Rizzo was wealthy. He saw her earrings, but thought they were fake and said he was going to give them to his girlfriend.
Younes former girlfriend, Maria Ortiz, testified he also confessed the crime to her, saying he choked her out, in reference to Rizzo.
Ortiz also said Younes called her April 25, 2022 after the assault and asked her to pick him up, but Ortiz said she didn t know about it until later.
Comments: (319) 398-8318; [email protected]
