A 23-year-old bricklayer, Adebayo Kingsley, has allegedly killed his lover, Rosemary Ifeoma, aka Mama Samuel.
The incident occurred on Darlington Ogbeifun Street, Off Ogbekan Village Road, Ugbor, in the Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.
Rosemary, 46, hailed from Orogun in the Ughelli North LGA of Delta State.
The suspect, an indigene of Ibillo in the Akoko-Edo LGA, allegedly hit the mother of four with a plank and afterwards had sexual intercourse with her lifeless body.
He was also accused of hitting the head of the widow’s 13-year-old son in an attempt to kill him.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “The widow had difficulty paying her rent and approached a woman in the area whose brother was constructing a storey building that had been roofed to allow her stay there pending when she would raise money from her business to get new accommodation. She had a lover who was coming to see her there and people knew him.
“It was early in the morning on July 16 that her son, after regaining consciousness from his confrontation with the suspect, told neighbours that it was Kingsley who killed his mother.
“The boy was rushed to a hospital for treatment, after which he led people to the place where the suspect was working. Immediately the suspect sighted the boy, he ran away, but was arrested by the police.”
The suspect, however, claimed that the deceased fell and hit her head on the floor during a disagreement with him.
He said, “She wanted me to help her with cement to fix a caravan on the floor, but when we did not agree on how to do it, she said I should leave her house. I actually left but missed my way and strayed back to the house. But by this time, they had locked the gate. So, I jumped into the compound, entered their room and her son threatened to stab me with a knife; I pushed him and he hit his head on the wall and collapsed.
“The woman then came charging at me and held me. But while trying to free myself from her grip, I pushed her and she also hit her head on the floor and blood started gushing out of her head. I quickly took the boy to the room, put him on the bed and left. I did not hit anybody with a log of wood and I did not sleep with the woman.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Kontongs Bello, said the suspect would be charged to court at the end of investigation.
