Noel man pleads not guilty to kidnapping, stalking that led to murder of former Carthage woman

A Noel man waived the formal reading of his superseding indictment this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield and entered a plea of not guilty to all counts.

Mahamud Tooxoow Mahamed, 39, a Somali national who was a permanent resident alien in the United States, was charged in a three-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury last week.

The superceding indictment charges Mahamed with one count of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of stalking resulting in death, and one count of kidnapping a minor.

The superseding indictment alleges that Mahamed kidnapped Jessica McCormack, 25, Noel, a former Carthage resident, the victim, which resulted in her death in July 2019 and also alleges Mahamed stalked McCormack from April 1 to July 17, 2019, which resulted in her death.

McCormack's body was discovered July 29, 2019, in a suitcase alongside MO 59 between Lanagan and Noel.