By Grace Q. Bryant
The 12-member trial jury at the Criminal Court “A” has brought down a unanimous guilty verdict against defendant Morris Togbah for the crime of Murder.
The grand jury for Monsterrado County indicted defendant Togbah for the crime of Murder, a felony of the first degree in violation of 4LCLR, Title 26, Section 14.1, Section 50.5 and Section 2.2.
Accordingly, prior to the incident on July 1, 2020, defendant Togbah was not in cordial relationship with his aunt due to his criminal behavior of collecting rent from her tenants and converting it into his personal use.
Based on his criminal behavior, his aunt drove him from her house after releasing him from the Monrovia Central Prison in 2019 which caused him to harbor hatred for her.
The indictment added that when the defendant was leaving his mother’s New Kru Town residence on that fateful the morning, he was wearing a brown cold hat which was later discovered on crime scene after the commission of the crime which is confirmed to link him to the crime.
The indictment noted that after the commission of the crime, defendant Togbah fled and went into hiding where he remain until October 13, 2020 , when he was picked up on the Capital Bye pass by the police.
Defendant Togbah tacitly admitted wearing the hat on the night of the incident but claimed that prior to the incident, he met one of his friends who approached him on an operation but after his refusal, his friends forcibly took the cold hat from his head.
On October 13, 2020, defendant Togbah was arrested, acquitted with his constitutional rights, thoroughly investigated and subsequently charged for gruesomely murdering deceased Rebecca Queeley with a green handle kitchen knife.
According to the indictment, while deceased Queelay was asleep, defendant Togbah entered her premises, concealed himself in the bathroom under the covers of darkness and with criminal intent murdered the deceased.
The indictment maintained that as the deceased was in bed, the defendant used the green handle knife and intentionally struck the deceased on the side of her chest, under her left breast, thereby directly causing her fatal death.
Adding that the commission of the crime of Murder and without any sense of remorse to human value, defendant Togbah absconded the crime scene.
After reading the verdict in court yesterday, Judge Roosevelt Willie ordered the clerk to do a communication to the Probation Office of the Ministry of Justice for a report on defendant Togbah’s character prior to the commission of the crime.
“The said report will enable the court to make an informed decision regarding the sentencing of defendant Togbah and that report should be sent to the clerk’s office on or before Friday,” Judge Willie noted.
According to Judge Willie, the sentencing hearing will be conducted on September 2, therefore adding that all parties are advised to take cognizant the time.
