Florida Prosecutor Cites Cost of Care in Release of Man Now Charged With Killing Three Disney-Area Tourists
State Attorney Monique Worrell in Osceola County is defending the earlier release of Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, who is now charged with three counts of first‑degree murder for allegedly stalking and fatally shooting three out‑of‑state tourists outside a Kissimmee vacation rental near Disney World. Worrell says Bojeh was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2021 attempted‑murder case and, under Florida law, had to be discharged from involuntary commitment once evaluators deemed him no longer dangerous, leaving prosecutors and judges without legal authority to keep him confined. She says Bojeh was ordered into outpatient mental‑health treatment but later fell out of compliance because he could not afford to pay, highlighting how ability to pay can determine whether high‑risk defendants remain under supervision. The new killings of brothers Robert Luis Kraft of Michigan, Douglas Joseph Kraft of Ohio, and their friend James John Puchan, also of Ohio, have triggered attacks from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and other critics who argue the insanity defense and conditional‑release framework let a violent offender return to the community. The case puts a spotlight on the tension between civil‑liberties limits on psychiatric confinement, public‑safety concerns about repeat violence, and the practical barrier of treatment costs in Florida’s system.
📌 Key Facts
- Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, is charged with three counts of first‑degree (premeditated) murder for killing three male tourists waiting for roadside assistance near a Disney‑area vacation rental.
- Bojeh was previously charged in a 2021 gas‑station shooting case but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and released under conditional supervision after evaluators deemed him no longer dangerous.
- State Attorney Monique Worrell says Bojeh fell out of required outpatient treatment because of "inability to pay," and that current Florida statutes barred continued involuntary confinement once he was cleared as non‑dangerous.
- Victims are identified as brothers Robert Luis Kraft, 70, of Holland, Michigan; Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Columbus, Ohio; and their friend James John Puchan, 69, also of Columbus, Ohio.
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