By Leslie Albrecht and Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Family members of the man found stabbed with his ear nearly sliced off in the trunk of his BMW were flying to New York Friday night to visit the victim.
Akeem Ajimotokan, a lawyer who works at Columbia University, was attacked Wednesday by an ex-con trying to steal the 2008 BMW he was selling. Barion Blake, 30, is suspected of assaulting Ajimotokan, 33, in his West New York, N.J., home after seeing an advertisement the victim had posted on the web offering to sell the car, police said.
Ajimotokan was still in a coma Friday afternoon at Harlem Hospital, according to his older brother, Ahmed Ajimotokan. Harlem Hospital confirmed that he was a patient, but would not comment on his condition.
"We're all shocked, it's really horrifying," Ahmed said in an phone interview. "He's the last person this should happen to."
The elder Ajimotokan, who is a minister and a physician in Houston, Texas, said his little brother was the baby of the family. He described Akeem as a "brilliant" guy, who was the "life of the party." Akeem and his alleged attacker, Blake, "came from two different worlds," Ahmed said, emphasizing Akeem's bright future as a graduate from Cardozo Law School who worked at Columbia.
He said his "mind just keeps flashing back" to memories of Akeem when he was younger. The family had moved to the U.S. from Nigeria, and for several years he and Akeem had lived together in New York.
Police called Ahmed Wednesday to tell him what had happened. He said they had identified his little brother through finger prints — all immigrants to the U.S. are required to be fingerprinted. The victim had not had any I.D. on him.
Ahmed and his wife were planning to fly to New York to be with Akeem on Friday night. He said he'd received numerous calls from family and friends from all over the world offering their prayers and support for his brother.
Akeem's colleagues at Columbia also described him as exceptionally friendly.
"He's an excellent person," said his co-worker, Wilbert Torres. "Very friendly."
Another colleague, who did not want to be identified, said Akeem always had a smile on his face and said "hello" to everybody.
"The whole office is devastated. It's scary. We wish him the best of luck," the man said, adding that the office was a very close-knit group and they were praying for Akeem.
Columbia said in an e-mailed statement that they do not comment on ongoing police investigations, but said "we express our deepest concern for Mr. Ajimotokan and hope for his full recovery."
