An Enugu State High Court, presided over by Honourable Justice Kenneth Okpe, has delivered a verdict condemning Chiamaka Ifezue to death by hanging for the murder of 27-year-old makeup artist, Ijeoma Nneke.
In a two-hour judgement on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, the court found Ifezue guilty of killing the victim by coercing her to ingest a poisonous substance. Nneke’s disfigured body was discovered around Maryland in Enugu metropolis on November 16.
Ifezue and her brother, Chukwuemeka, were apprehended and charged with conspiracy and murder in 202. They were accused of compelling Nneke to ingest the lethal substance that led to her demise.
The suspects allegedly disposed of her body in the Maryland area of the Enugu metropolis and applied a corrosive substance believed to be acid on it.
During the trial, Justice Okpe dismissed Chukwuemeka following a no-case submission made by the defense counsel, Mr. Chuma Oguejiofor. However, the court, in its final verdict, concluded that the prosecution had convincingly established Ifezue’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court endorsed the assertions of Chinelo Chigbo, who led the prosecution from the Department of Public Prosecution, that Ifezue was culpable for the death of the 27-year-old makeup artist. Consequently, Ifezue was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.
Throughout the trial, the court admitted police exhibits related to the alleged murder of the makeup artist. Prosecution Witness 7 (PW7), Sgt. Udeze Oguguo, a police officer from the Independence Layout Police Division in Enugu, provided evidence and tendered the exhibits recovered from the crime scene. These included various items such as currency, mobile phones, SIM cards, and makeup tools belonging to the deceased.
Also tendered in evidence was the key of a Toyota Metrix car with number plate JJJ410BJ which was allegedly used to move the dead body of the deceased from the scene of the crime to where it was dumped.
The police officer told the court that the car that had been parked at the Police Anti-Kidnap Formation was no longer in good condition to be moved to the court.
He also tendered hard copies of the WhatsApp messages and text messages the deceased had with her fiancé and a friend, respectively, while at the scene of the crime.
