How my brother-in-law killed and lived with my sister’s decomposed body for days – Onyebuchi

One 31 year old Mrs Rita Onyebuchi, who was married to one, Ikechukwu Atansi, for two months, was recently found dead in her home with deep cuts and bruises on her body after being absent from work for a couple of days.

Her husband of two months, Ikechukwu Atansi, popularly called Agbada, has been arrested by the police.

The deceased’s younger brother, Johnpaul Onyebuchi, spoke about the tragic incident in this chat with punch newspaper.

You recently posted on Twitter how your sister was found dead in her house after failing to show up at work for two days, how did it happen?

My sister and I worked for the same company – a security firm in Awka, Anambra State. She didn’t come to work on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 and that had never happened before. She was always at work; she was a dedicated employee of the company. And because she was not at work, I called her on her mobile line. It rang but no one picked up. She never returned the calls, which was also unusual.

After the day’s work, I went to her place at Chima’s compound in Ezimezi village, Amawbia. When I got there, the house was locked and her husband’s car was not in the compound. I knocked on the door several times but there was no response.

Later, I called her husband’s mobine line but it was switched off. That was on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. I went to work that day but still didn’t see my sister there. Meanwhile, she was always punctual at work. I called her several times again but no one picked up.

You must have been worried…

Yes, I was really worried. Her husband’s line was still switched off. But I could not go to her place that Wednesday because I left work very late. Incidentally, my mum said she had also been trying to reach her. She said she could not reach her and her husband on the phone.

On Thursday, I went to her place before going to work. I saw a policeman in the compound and a crowd that had gathered. A special crime unit of the police arrived and I was taken inside to see my sister’s dead body. The body had started to decompose and there was a lot of blood.

There was blood all over the bedroom and the place was smelling because of the body that had started to decompose. I was shocked.

But I couldn’t tell my mum. My mum was also there to see why her daughter had not been reachable for some days but I had to convince her to leave the compound because I didn’t want her to see her daughter like that. I told her to return home and that the police were still trying to find her. I also didn’t want my mother to know at that time because she was suffering from high blood pressure. Sadly, my sister was two months pregnant.

What about her husband?

He was arrested in the house on Thursday, March 26, 2020. He was arrested by the police from Central Police Station in Awka. They got married on January 10, 2020, less than three months before she was killed.

So where was your brother-in-law during the period that you couldn’t reach him and your sister?

He was in the house; their neighbours saw him. It was the neighbours that alerted the police. All the while, he was in the house with the body as it was decomposing. He is the prime suspect and is at the state Criminal Investigation Department, Amawbia, Awka.

How many people have been arrested by the police in connection with the case?

Three people, including my sister’s husband and his sister. Something happened after he (brother-in-law) was arrested. The Officer-in-Charge at the state CID said members of its homicide department and members of our family would visit the crime scene to see if we could find more evidence. Meanwhile, the place was locked up by the police when Atansi was arrested and the keys were handed over to the investigating police officer of the case at the Central Police Station.

But surprisingly, the IPO gave the keys to Atansi who then gave them to his sister. So by the time we got to the crime scene with the state CID’s homicide team and a lawyer, we found out that the place had been cleaned up. Investigation showed that it was the IPO at the Central Police Station who gave the house keys to Atansi. Atansi gave the keys to his sister who cleaned up the crime scene and removed the evidence in the house. She also took away my sister’s mobile phone.

What is the situation now?

The case is still at the state CID, Awka and the police are conducting their investigation very well. We went there on Wednesday. So the people in police custody are my sister’s husband and the two people who cleaned up the crime scene. They were interrogated because of that action. Recently, we met with the Deputy Commissioner of Police and he told us they were making headway with the investigation but he didn’t disclose more than that. He told us that they were getting more witnesses and things were becoming clearer. Everything is now unfolding gradually.

At the state CID, they told us that they had got everything they needed to nail the culprits and that what was left to be done was the autopsy. So I will like to commend them for their swift action.

In your post, you seem so sure it was your brother-in-law that did it, why?

He was the one who opened the door for the police after their neighbours alerted the police. According to their neighbours, they saw him in the house during the period that we were looking for my sister. The neighbours could perceive the smell coming from her decomposed body and he was in the house. They saw him at the backyard of the house. That was when they started knocking on the door. Initially, they thought there was no one at home.

Her body had started to decompose. When they knocked on the door, he came to open to the door for them and came out. That was when they called the police and he was arrested. Then I was called to come and identify the body.

That convinced me that he had something to do with it. He was in the room with her so he must been the one who murdered her, coupled with how his people tried to clean up the crime scene. He also switched off his mobile phone.

Was there anyone living with them?

No! Nobody was living with them.

Did the neighbours hear them fighting or quarrelling before her dead body was found in the house?

No, the neighbours said they never heard any noise in the house. And all the while that we were trying to reach my sister, his (brother-in-law) phone was switched off while my sister’s phone was not switched off but she didn’t pick up. She was two months pregnant. After the neighbours called the police, they were able to get him there. So he was with the body all the while that we were having difficulty reaching my sister.

What does he (brother-in-law) do?

They say he sells land. He is a land agent.

Did your sister ever tell you they were having any problems?

No. she never reported anything and he also never reported anything. I asked their neighbours and they said they also didn’t know about any problems between them.

How long were they together before they got married?

They started dating in 2018 and this March made it two years that they knew each other.

Could you tell how she died?

She was strangled because her tongue was out. Her face was bruised and there was a lot of blood there. There were some deep cuts on her laps. I could see that blood came out of her ears; that is to show you how terrible it was.

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