Justice Oyindamola Ogala of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja Thursday sentenced a couple, Fortune and Stephen Nwankwo to fourteen and two years imprisonment respectively for the involuntary manslaughter of their 19-year-old housemaid, Ms Joy Adole.
The judge sentenced them after finding them guilty of the eight counts charge brought against them by the state government.
The suspects were alleged to have killed a9-year-old Adole on 20 April 2020, at their residence, located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga.
Their offences border on conspiracy, involuntary manslaughter and accessary after the fact to murder.
They, however, denied the allegation, claiming that Adole committed suicide by hanging herself in her bedroom.
Following their plea of not guilty, the state Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), commenced trial and called eight witnesses to prove the case against the couple.
However, delivering judgement Thursday, the judge held that the prosecution had convincingly proved the charge of manslaughter, conspiracy and attempt to pervert justice and misconduct as regards Adole’s corpse.
While Stephen was convicted of the charge of conspiracy, attempt to pervert justice, and misconduct as regards the said corpse.
The judge discharged and acquitted the couple of the charges of accessary after the fact to murder an accessary after the fact to a felony
Justice Ogala said, “the first defendant (Fortune) beat the deceased which caused her death as she had not been feeling well prior to the incident.
“The court was convinced that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses were not only strong but also corroborated the fact that the housemaid died due to the beating by the first defendant.”
The judge further held that the defendants did not inform or call the family of the deceased from 5. a.m. when they found out she had died until noon when the second defendant called the sister of the deceased and asked for her full name and other personal information so as to enable them to embalm her in the morgue.
According to the court, the second defendant conspired with the first defendant to pervert the course of justice by hanging the body with a rope after finding out that the first defendant had killed the deceased due to the beating.
“The defendants were the last two adults that got in contact with the housemaid before her death. There were three adults in the house. The defendants and the housemaid.”
Justice Ogala said that the hanging of the deceased with rope was staged and the investigation by the police found her body did not depict suicide as her feet were on the floor.
“The defendants tampered with the evidence as they had already embalmed the body which made it difficult for the toxicologist to carry out an autopsy as the cause of death was uncertain.
“Dr Sunday Sokunle-Soyemi testified before the court that the body of the deceased was embalmed before she was brought for autopsy.
“As a result, the cause of death can not be ascertained as the body should not have been embalmed before autopsy. In the circumstance of this case where medical evidence is inconclusive, the court shall infer evidence from the evidence available.
“The doctor said that the toxicology could not be performed because the defendants had embalmed the deceased before an autopsy could be carried out. The defendants are the last couple to be seen with the deceased. The circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.
“It is imperative to say that the evidence of the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) on what he saw at the scene can never be hearsay. Evidence of an IPO is never to be referred to as hearsay as contended by the defence in this case.”
The judge, therefore, sentenced the first defendant to 14 years for involuntary manslaughter and five years for an attempt to pervert the course of justice and misconduct as regards a corpse. She ordered that the prison term run concurrently and sentence the second defendant to two years imprisonment sequel to the allocutus of the defence counsel, Mr Okeh Barrah.
Barrah urged the court to temper justice with mercy as the defendants were a young couple and had two little children ages one and two respectively. He prayed the court to consider the ages of the children. The defendants do not have any criminal record prior to this. I pray to my lord to show them mercy.”
The prosecution counsel, Mr Sule Yusuf, who represented the state, was present in court for judgment.