Thoue Nichole Bronowski: Ohio nurse found safe after she was kidnapped by man who raped and murdered her mother
CUYAHOGA FALLS, OHIO: A man suspected of kidnapping a 45-year-old school nurse and raping and killing her mother on Thanksgiving Day was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire at a Louisiana hotel after investigators learned that he was holding a hostage.
James Edward Hawley, also known as Ahmed Ben David, 47, was accused of kidnapping 45-year-old Thoue Nichole Bronowski last week in Cuyahoga Falls and fatally shooting her mother, Norma Matko, 69, in Belmont County. In a press conference on Wednesday, December 2, Cuyahoga Falls Police Chief Jack Davis said Bronowski’s family reported her missing on Thursday, November 26 after she was last seen on Wednesday, November 25 evening in Cuyahoga Falls. “Then we were contacted by Belmont County that her mother had been killed, so we knew right away that it was important to find this person,” Davis said.
Bronowski, a nurse at Akron Children’s Hospital, was reported to be safe and well and she will soon be reuniting with her family. “She’s been through a lot... She’s going to need some time to heal from this ordeal," he added. On the night of November 25 or the morning of November 26, the suspect kidnapped Bronowski. He then drove over 100 miles to the home of Bronowski’s mother and murdered her.
According to the horrific details of the crime that unfolded, as reported by WOIO, Hawley first tied up and raped Matko, and at some point carved a word or a symbol on her back. Matko’s cause of death or the exact timeline of her assault and murder has not been revealed. Hawley allegedly posted a photograph of himself on Facebook that police believe was taken inside Bronowski’s apartment, hours before carrying out the murder. He was seen pointing two pistols in the photo.
“The suspect posted numerous photos of himself with firearms on social media and had made statements online and to individuals ultimately known to us (law enforcement), saying he wanted to kill some cops,” Jeff Fortunato, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge in Cleveland, told the news station. Fortunato said his office was notified over the weekend of the murder and disappearance and worked with local law enforcement to determine Hawley as the potential suspect. “Law enforcement was able to determine the fleeing suspect’s location, who was traveling with the abducted victim,” Fortunato said. “They were located to a hotel in Pineville, Louisiana. Law enforcement officers from a variety of agencies responded,” including some from Ohio.
In a bid to find the suspect and the victim, investigators tracked both Hawley’s and Bronowski’s phones and they discovered that the suspect wrote subsequent social media posts appearing to threaten Bronowski’s teenage son. “You get it twisted. I ain’t running. I am hunting. 400 years worth of killing is in my soul. Quiet before you wake up and see me. Or maybe your words will send me to your brother’s house,” the suspect reportedly wrote.
After they tracked the suspect to a Louisiana motel, a shootout ensued where Hawley was killed in the gunfire and an FBI agent suffered non-life-threatening injuries. “Mr. David (Hawley) was fatally shot by FBI agents during the execution of the aforementioned arrest warrant based on those charges last evening,” Fortunato said. “Unfortunately, an FBI agent was also wounded in the process of that search warrant’s execution and is currently undergoing treatment.”
It is known that Bronowski and Hawley had once dated. However, authorities have not yet confirmed the motive of the suspect killer and kidnapper. “His ideology was violence. Not to be flippant, but that’s the core thing we’re seeing right now," Fortunato said.