Man Charged With Murder Over Deaths Of Black Lives Matter Activist & AARP Volunteer

A 19-year-old activist, Oluwatoyin Salau, had described being molested in a viral Twitter thread on the day police say she went missing earlier this month. Victoria Sims, 75, went missing days later.

The bodies of 75-year-old AARP volunteer Victoria Sims were Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau and found on Saturday night in Tallahassee. | Tallahassee Police Department/ Lively Tech
The bodies of 75-year-old AARP volunteer Victoria Sims were Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau and found on Saturday night in Tallahassee. | Tallahassee Police Department/ Lively Tech

The bodies of Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau and 75-year-old AARP volunteer Victoria Sims were found on Saturday night in Tallahassee, Florida, and a man has been charged with murder and kidnapping in connection to their deaths, police said.

Tallahassee police said in a statement Tuesday that both the women were found dead at the property of 49-year-old Aaron Glee, Jr. He was arrested in Orlando and is being charged with felony murder and kidnapping with intent to terrorize in connection with the deaths, according to police and county booking records

Glee had recently been charged with battery in late May after police spotted him allegedly kicking a woman in the abdomen after she denied his proposition for sex, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The relationship between 19-year-old Salau and Sims, if one existed, is not immediately clear. Sims was last seen on June 11, and police issued a missing persons report for her two days later. Tallahassee police said that her home had been ransacked and her car was missing.

Salau was last seen on June 6, according to police. On that day, she posted a disturbing thread on Twitter in which she described being molested by a man who offered her a ride and help finding a place to stay. She also wrote that the man offered to bring her to collect her belongings at a church where she had been staying.

“He came disguised as a man of God and ended up picking me up from nearby Saxon Street,” Salau tweeted. “I trusted the holy spirit to keep me safe.”

Police said she reported the incident that same day, but also added that there is currently “no indication that the original battery Salau reported is related to her death. The information and description Salau provided to police and posted on social media prior to her disappearance does not match the person ultimately found to be responsible for her murder.”

USA Today reported that a local homeless shelter said Salau sought help on June 8 and was given phone numbers for assistance; the shelter said it has no record of Salau contacting those numbers.
 

Who was Oluwatoyin Salau?

People have been mourning the death of Salau, known as “Toyin,” on Twitter with the hashtag #JusticeForToyin. She’s being remembered as an outspoken rising activist at the recent protests against police brutality and an advocate for Black trans lives, including Tony McDade. McDade was a Black trans man who Tallahassee police shot and killed in late May.

“There is no justice that can be served that will replace my sister’s life,” her brother, Oluwaseyi Salau, told the Tallahassee Democrat.

In a widely shared video, Salau appears at a Florida protest delivering powerful statements, and she had worked with local organizers in recent weeks, the New York Times reported

“We [are] doing this for our brothers and sisters who got shot, but we [are] doing this for every Black person,” she said.  “Because at the end of the day, I cannot take my fucking skin color off. I cannot mask this shit. Everywhere I fucking go, I am profiled whether I like it or not.”

Trish Brown, a founder of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, described Salau as “a strong, young black female leader to me, and a powerful speaker” to the New York Times. “I feel like something was snatched away from me,” Brown said. 

Who was Victoria Sims?

Sims was a volunteer with AARP for a decade, local outlet WCTV reported.

“Vicki worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others – as a dedicated advocate for older Americans; a committed volunteer for AARP, Second Harvest Food Bank of the Big Bend and other community causes; a devoted mother and grandmother; and a passionate, fully engaged citizen, helping our nation to achieve its highest ideals,” AARP spokesperson Dave Bruns said in a statement described by USA Today.

Sims had two daughters and several grandchildren, Bruns said.