TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
The Port Harcourt-suspected serial killer, Gracious David-West, has admitted ownership of a confessional statement made at Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) office which contained how he committed all the killings in hotels in Rivers State, as presented by prosecution counsel.
The prosecution counsel, Chidi Eke, made the presentation when one of the police investigative team leaders, Sergeant Ogbomudia Emgbokuro,
appeared in the witness box.
Upon cross-examination, Sergeant Emgbokuro told the court that the accused person took police investigative team round the whole hotels, where he committed all the crime without the assistance of the hotels’ managements.
The senior police officer also told the court that in the course of their investigation, it was revealed that the accused used same pattern of tying his victims’ legs and hands against their back with white piece of cloth.
He, David-West, also used kitchen knife to threaten the victims to enable him retrieve their ATM cards and withdrew money from their respective bank accounts.
Sergeant Emgbokuro said David-West locked his victims in each of the hotels, where he committed the crime and went away with the room keys after collecting their valuables including money, hand bags, jewelries.
The police sergeant went further to inform the court that two bodies were found inside a hotel room in Bende Street, where the second suspect, Nimi ThankGod, who is the manager of the hotel, was given money to report the matter to nearest police station, but she never did, instead conspired and disposed the deceased along Aggery Road.
The trail judge, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, after admitting as exhibits, a document containing the Medical Dead Certificate and pictures of some of the victims, as presented by the prosecution counsel, adjourned till January 17, for continuation of the trial.