Man Kills Wife For Cold Rice

Maryland County police have arrested and charged a 44-year-oldman with manslaughter for allegedly beating his wife unmercifully to death for eating his food (cold rice) kept the previous day. Police arrested Ezekiel Yardeh Toe Monday at a crossing point behind Little Wlebbo Town in Harper District while trying to escape.

Rice remains a staple here, and in most homes, a day’s meal is incomplete without a bowl for everyone, but for a husband, who is usually the breadwinner in most families, to take the life of a family member, particularly the wife in the home, is atypical.

The accused told police investigation that he did not eat his day’s meal last Friday so he instructed one of his sons early Saturday, August 11, 2012 to warm the food and that upon his return from where he was going, he will eat it. 

The boy did exactly as instructed, but upon Toe’s return to home, he was told that his wife Cecelia Toe had eaten the meal. According to police sources, Toe explained that he was enraged by his wife’s action so he kicked her in the stomach, sending the lady to the ground and she never recovered.

Police further quote the accused as saying he immediately rushed the late Cecelia to the Sodoken Clinic, but she did not respond to efforts by medical personnel to recover her until 7pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012 when the deceased was subsequently referred to the JJ Dossen Memorial Hospital in Harper where she was pronounced dead two hours after arrival.

Reports say following the death of Cecelia, her husband tried to conceal the incident, but while in the process, a fight nearly erupted between him (Toe) and family members of the deceased over the body. It was during the tussle that the police received the information and got involved.

This paper was unable to establish how long the couple lived together as husband and wife prior to the incident, and up to press time, the police have not yet taken hold of the body though the suspect has been forwarded to the Pleebo Magisterial Court under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.