…Pleads not guilty to crime
Blessing Okorite, Port Harcourt
Gracious David-West, alleged killer of some young ladies in various hotels in five states of the country, including Rivers State, on Thursday, denied committing the said crime.
It would be recalled that David-West, on October 22, 2019, pleaded guilty to nine of 10-count charge against him in respect of killing of a total of nine women in different hotels and Guest Houses in parts of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at different dates and time.
He had denied the killing of the 10th person who he said he tied and left on a cushion in the hotel room after he had rough-handled her.
But at the resumed hearing of the murder case, on Thursday, the accused (David-West) contradicted his earlier guilty plea and pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
The matter was adjourned till last Monday in November for the commencement of accelerated hearing.
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Also recall that at the resumed sitting, last Monday, hearing on the matter could not go on as the Prosecution, led by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Prof. Zaccheus Adango, moved a motion before the court on another suspect, one Mimi ThankGod, a female and alleged accomplice in the murder that was supposed to have been arraigned with David-West but was not.
He urged the court to make an order to the Police to produce her before the court during Wednesday’s sitting so she could explain her role in the killings.
Following the development, the Prosecution got the leave of the court to amend the charge to accommodate the second suspect and for fresh plea to be taken by both suspects.
On Thursday, the amended charge was read out to the duo and each of them pleaded not guilty.
While the prime suspect was still charged with the same 10-count charge bordering on murder, the second accused person, who is the Manager of one of the hotels the heinous crime was committed, Mrs. ThankGod, was charged with two-count charge, bordering on ill-conduct with one of the corpses.
However, Presiding Judge, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, granted bail to Mrs. ThankGod at the tune of N500, 000 and one surety in like sum. The surety, he ordered, must live in Port Harcourt and must produce two passport photographs, sworn-affidavit of means of identification and his residence verified by the Police.
Mrs. ThankGod’s legal representative, Edward Obiokor, while applying for the bail of his client, reminded the court that the hotel manager was charged for misconduct with the corpse and not murder, adding that she even helped to rescue one of the victims who the prime suspect also attempted to murder in the same hotel. He added that the lucky victim survived the attack and is alive till date.
He urged the court to admit ThankGod to bail, and assured that she would not abscond from the proceedings untill the matter is disposed of.
In an interview with newsmen shortly after the sitting, the principle prosecution officer of the state ministry of justice, who represented the AG in the sitting yesterday, Chidi Ekeh, said, “David-West was arraigned before this same court for the killing of nine young women in the state, he pleaded guilty to nine of the ten charges given to him.
“Today, he has changed his guilty plea to not guilty. However, his guilty plea did not make any difference because the court will still write not guilty for him, because he is charged with capital offence.
“Again, the second person that was arraigned with him is not being tried for murder, but for misconduct with corpse. She is a manager of one of the hotels( a guest house), the crime was committed and the corpse hidden under the bed.
“When the dead body was discovered apparently by a house keeper and reported to her, instead of her to alert the Police or any authority about the strange corpse, directed that the body be wrapped in a black polythene bag and thrown into a refuse dump in the area.
Meanwhile, friends of the deceased were looking for her, unknown to the hotel manager that the victim had earlier informed them (her friends), of where she was going that night, when she did not come back the following day, those her friends went to the hotel to look for her, but they chased them away that she had checked out, but they insisted that she had not reached home and they could not reach her on phone, in the course of the search for her, they were informed of a corpse found in a refuse dump, and when they got there, they discovered that it was indeed her body.” the prosecuting counsel narrated.
He noted that prosecution discovered this event in the Police investigation file, but was surprised that they did not charge her to court, prompting the office of the Attorney-General of the state, Prof. Zaccheus Adango to insist that she be charged for the ill treatment to the corpse. “So it is necessary that she appears before the court to explain the reason for such action they took.”
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the case to December 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19 and 20 for hearing in the matter.
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The trial Judge, Adolphus Enebeli promised to adjourn all other cases before him in each of these days to ensure speedy justice delivery of the charge.
Meanwhile, David-West during the sitting urged the court to order the Police to release his belongings especially money, wrist watch and necklace they impounded when they arrested him in August.
He spoke through his Lawyer, Vincent Chuku. But the court assured him that they would be recovered but that they should be more concerned with the matter and the magnitude of the murder charge hanging around his neck.
However, the Police have raised concerns that the remains of some of the David-West’s victims are still laying in the morgue with nobody, relatives or friends coming to claim them.
The state commissioner of Police, Mustapha Dandaura stated this in his office recently. He said that the development has justified the insinuation that some of the victims of the hotel killings were prostitutes and reiterated parents and wards to caution their wards and know where they are at each point in time.
