Atlanta , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Serial killing suspect Elias Abuelazam agreed in an Atlanta courtroom Friday to be sent back to Michigan to face charges . Abuelazam did not appear in court for a second hearing , which had been scheduled because his lawyer had not arrived in time to attend the first . His attorney , Edwar Zeineh , agreed to allow his client to return to Michigan , where the lawyer is based . `` We look forward at this point for the criminal justice process to commence ... and in the end provide a result , '' Zeineh told reporters outside the courthouse . Abuelazam is suspected of slashing 18 victims in three states , killing five . He is charged in Michigan with one count of assault with intent to commit murder , Zeineh said . Abuelazam agreed in Friday 's first hearing to waive an extradition hearing , a court proceeding in which Michigan would have made its case on why he should be returned and Abuelazam could have argued why he should not . The towering suspect , dressed in a black jail jumpsuit , seemed confused in the morning session as to what the hearing was about and what his options were . At one point he asked Fulton County Superior Court Magistrate Judge Richard Hicks what extradition means . Michigan authorities will have 15 working days to pick him up and deliver him to the state . Tracy Flanagan , an official with the Fulton County Sheriff 's Office , said the extradition paperwork on Abuelazam is complete . `` The suspect is ready for pickup by Michigan authorities and they have been notified . No word on when they 're coming . This all depends on how quickly they can coordinate transport , '' Flanagan said . Abuelazam , an Israeli citizen living legally in the United States , was arrested Wednesday night at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta . He was trying to board a flight to Israel when he was taken into custody , police said . Police had Abuelazam in custody twice in the past month , both within hours of when stabbings were reported , but he was released . Police say he had n't been linked to the bloody attacks at the time . He was arrested on August 5 after a traffic stop and on July 29 for giving alcohol to a minor , according to authorities and court documents . During the traffic stop in Arlington , Virginia , police arrested him after learning that he had an outstanding warrant for assault . They found a knife and hammer in his car -- both weapons authorities now think were used during a string of stabbings in Michigan , Virginia and Ohio . One of those attacks happened in Virginia just hours after Abuelazam was released . Police say he had not been linked at that time to the stabbings , which began in May and continued until last weekend . Family members of the victims told CNN they do not blame officials for not holding Abuelazam initially . Stephanie Ward , a sister of one of the victims in Flint , said she could n't understand why someone would kill her brother , Arnold Minor . `` Why ? That 's what we all want to know . How could you do that ? '' she asked . Most of the stabbing victims were black . Although federal officials said late on Thursday it was too soon to give a motive , Leesburg , Virginia , Police Chief Joseph Price said he believed the attacker was targeting African-Americans . `` For our community ... when you look at our demographics and you look at the victims here , my belief is he selected the victims in Leesburg based on the color of their skin , '' Price said . Abuelazam also was cited by police in Michigan . He was fined $ 125 for providing alcohol to a minor on July 29 , the same day an early morning stabbing was reported in the area . A tip eventually led Michigan police this week to a market where the suspect worked , said prosecutor David S. Leyton of Genesee County , Michigan . After talking with employees , police watched surveillance video to determine whether he matched the physical description of the attacker . In Louisville , Kentucky , authorities learned Abuelazam had bought a $ 3,000 ticket from Atlanta to Tel Aviv , Israel , paid for by his uncle . The man was traveling on an expired Israeli passport but was in the United States legally , said a federal law enforcement official involved in the investigation . U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they arrested Abuelazam at 10 p.m. as he attempted to board the Delta flight bound for Tel Aviv . A homeland security official told CNN the National Targeting Center had found his name on the passenger list . Authorities have said the same person is responsible for three recent attacks in Leesburg , the stabbing deaths of five people and woundings of nine others in the Flint , Michigan , area , and a stabbing on Saturday that wounded a man in Toledo , Ohio . Most of the 14 victims in Michigan were African-American , police said . Flint is a majority African-American community . In majority-white Leesburg , two victims were black and one was Latino . Several of the victims were also developmentally disabled , police said . Abuelazam once worked at North Spring Behavioral Healthcare in Leesburg , the center said Friday . `` His employment at North Spring ended in 2008 , '' Scott Zeiter , the center 's chief executive , said in a statement . `` We understand that he may be a suspect in certain crimes committed in 2010 . Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families . '' The Michigan attacks took place from May 24 through August 2 . The three attacks in Virginia occurred Tuesday , Thursday and Friday of last week . The Michigan victims ranged in age from 17 to 60 , authorities said . All were men , and in two cases they were people with special needs . The suspect is said to have approached victims who were walking during the early morning hours , asking for directions or other assistance to lure them close to his car , police said . Sgt . Bill Wauford of the Toledo Police Department said the method of attack in the Ohio case matched that described in the Michigan incidents . The five Michigan fatalities have been identified as David Motley , Emmanuel Dent , Darwin Marshall , Frank Kellybrew and Arnold Minor . `` We ought to remember the victims in all of this , '' prosecutor Leyton said . `` You have real people who have died and real families who have been torn apart . Our heart goes out to them . '' Investigators said more charges are expected . CNN 's Susan Candiotti and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report .
Elias Abuelazam declined to change his plea at a second hearing . He is linked to 18 stabbings in Michigan , Virginia and Ohio , police say . Authorities say he was in custody twice before they knew he was a suspect . He was arrested this week at the airport in Atlanta on suspicion of killing five people .