The Anambra State Police Command have arrested middle-aged man, simply called Chidi, for allegedly beheading his aunty and severing both limbs at Amawbia, a suburb of Awka, Awka South Council of Anambra state.
The deceased, identified as Mrs. Margaret Nwanna, was said to have gone missing on Friday, while none of the family members or neighbours account of her whereabout, until her visibly badly mutilated and dismembered body was found in a cesspit of an uncompleted building around 5pm at Umueze village, Amawbia, Monday, Sept 5, 2011.
Alarm was raised and curious onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse of the gory sight which was said to still be dripping fresh blood. Police was instantly called in and mass arrest of members of the household was effected at once.
Chidi, according to police had already confessed to the crime was still being held along with her mother, brother and sister, and were said to have made very useful statements to the police homicide operatives.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) told reporters yesterday in Awka that in spite of the confession of the prime suspect, the police would carry out further investigations to establish the motives and all those having a hand in the dastardly act as it was doubtful if the young man acted alone.
According to the PPRO, “this is heinous. This is a heinous crime as far as we are concerned. The suspect has been arrested; the arrest was done on Tuesday.”
“We are working on the lead that he could not have committed the crime alone. We will eventually arrest all those that must have carried out the act with him”, he added.
Though it was yet to be established if the killing was for any ritual purposes, the suspect was said to have been in the habit of reading mystic and occult books and playing around with suspicious occult objects/materials and had been admonished over it severally in the past.
It was during police interrogation that Chidi was said to have confessed to the crime. As at press time, it has not been established what and where he kept the dismembered body parts of the deceased.
Family sources said that before now there was no love lost between the deceased and the family of the prime suspect. But it was gathered that the suspect’s mother was at a time married to the brother of the deceased.
Again it was learnt that the suspect’s mother after having one child for the deceased’s brother left him and went outside to have the suspect and two others, a girl and a boy before returning to her husband’s house late. But she and the three children she returned with never made up with her sister in-law (the deceased).
