By Lincoln G. Peters
Former Liberian Chief Justice Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott and three of her family members spent a night in jail Tuesday, 20 June 2023 following multiple police charges regarding her daughter Charloe Musu’s murder.
The Liberia National Police (LN) charged Cllr. Scott and some of her family members with murder, criminal conspiracy, and [providing] false information to law enforcement officers about Charloe’s brutal murder.
Cllr. Scott, Rebecca Youdeh Wisner, Gertrude Newton, and Alice Johnson’s charges followed months of police investigation into Charloe’s murder.
Charloe’s death in February this year shocked the country and heightened security fears.
She was murdered at Cllr. Scott’s residence after the former Chief Justice reported to police authorities two separate incidents of alleged armed robbery attacks at her home in Brewerville.
Cllr. Scott lamented that the government did not lift a finger to prevent the third incident in which her daughter Charloe was killed.
Following the incident, U.S.-based Liberian former head of the erstwhile Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cllr. Jerome Verdier alleged that Monrovia Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee had ordered Monrovia City Police Officer Varlee Telleh to carry out the attack.
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Both Koijee and Telleh have denied playing a role in the attacks and the murder of Charloe.
Cllr. Scott on Tuesday appeared at the LNP headquarters along with Rebecca Youdeh Wisner, Gertrude Newton, and Alice Johnson. Cllr. Scott was escorted by her legal team to the LNP to receive her charges.
Cllr. Scott appeared very ill, and she almost fell to the ground while disembarking a vehicle at the LNP headquarters.
Police declared Cllr. Scott and her three family members as suspects and detained them in police custody.
According to information gathered by this paper, the LNP has kept Cllr. Scott and the three others behind bars to be formally charged and forwarded to court today, Wednesday, 21 June 2023.
This paper has gathered that police will hold an elaborate press conference before heading to court with the accused.
Meanwhile, Cllr. Scott’s lawyers have filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus before Criminal Court “C” against the Government of Liberia. The writ seeks to compel the government to ensure that the accused are brought before a judge.
Her lawyers complained to the court that their client was requested by police to appear, and upon her appearance, they had her arrested and detained without a formal charge.
Cllr. Scott’s lawyers contend that such conduct is sufficient to trigger a writ of Habeas Corpus.
The presiding Judge of Criminal Court “C” A. Blamo Dixon has ordered the living bodies of Cllr. Scott and the three others detained to appear before the court along with the respondent to make a determination in the matter.
