He is being held without bond awaiting his next court hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Sheriff Robert Pickell says it was an uneventful first night, but he did have an animated conversation with the suspect as he was being booked yesterday afternoon.
"He also said that he expressed some concern about all of the cameras being around, and I told him he's going to have to get used to it. That's the way it's going to be for him for quite a while," Pickell told reporters.
"I then told him if you follow the rules, you follow the rules, you do the right thing, you'll get along OK."
Abuelazam is in the process today of getting a physical exam and psychiatric evaluation. When all of that is complete and they feel comfortable moving him to another, isolated cell, they will.
According to Pickell, Abuelazam has given no problems, but his staff has to remain vigilant. "He's been well behaved, very quiet, not saying very much. What concerns me about this guy, from everything I hear from investigators, is he's very unpredictable. So every time we move him, we move him very cautiously with a number of people."
Abuelazam is suspected in a summer stabbing spree in Michigan, Ohio and Virginia. Fourteen of those attacks happened here in Mid-Michigan. Five of them were deadly.
Additional charges are expected in the not-too-distant future.
Investigators are still building their cases and waiting on some things. Physical evidence is being processed at the state police crime lab.
"That's what's going on in this case. The charges will be coming both on the homicide cases and on the assault with intent to murder cases," Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said.
Leyton says he will seek the maximum penalty under Michigan law, including life in prison without parole. But could the suspected serial stabber face the death penalty at some point?
Abuelazam already is suspected of 18 stabbings in three states, but police are also looking at potentially linking him to another stabbing in Virginia, this one deadly, that could be a capital crime.
Jammie Lane, 44, was found inside his Leesburg, Virginia townhouse stabbed in the stomach on March 28, 2009.
Authorities there are trying to confirm if Abuelazam was in the area at that time.
The investigation, they say, is very active.
"He is certainly a person of interest. He is considered a suspect, but he is among other suspects in that investigation as well," said officer Chris Jones, public information officer for the Leesburg, Virginia Police Department.
Leesburg police say Abuelazam lived very close to the victim in the same neighborhood, maybe even for years.
"There has been a historical link dating back to that time frame 2004-2005," Jones said.
There are some differences. Lane, a black male, was found inside his home in the afternoon. All of the 18 attacks Abuelazam is suspected of now occurred at night and the victims were attacked outside while walking alone.
Most were black men.
If Abuelazam is connected to Lane's death and convicted, he could face the death penalty in Virginia.
When asked what his thoughts were about prosecuting Abuelazam first in Virginia, Leyton said he's open. "I'm open to discussing anything with the Virginia authorities. Leesburg and the MSP task force speak daily and often, and we're going to remain in communication with them."
When asked if Abuelazam deserved death, Leyton answered, "He deserves to be tried and convicted by a jury of his citizens, and that's what's going to happen in Genesee County."
