By Patrick N. Mensah, Maryland county
The Crime Services Department (CSD) of the Liberia National Police in Maryland county has charged and forwarded to court two suspects in connection with the alleged murder of a 51-year- old Peter Huggins, resident of Bunger Hill, Community East Harper in Maryland.
Suspects Alfred Sackor Mombou, age 34, and 19-year-old Brown B. Dalieh, Jr, were charged and sent to court on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, for allegedly beating Peter Huggins, Jr. on January 19, 2022, resulting in his death.
Speaking to the Liberia National Police on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, the spouse (girlfriend) of the victim, Felecia George, narrated that at about 7:45 to 8:00 PM, her boyfriend, the late Peter Huggins, Jr. was allegedly beaten with a mortar pestle in his chest and back.
A pestle is a simple tool used to pound ingredients or substances in a mortar by crushing and grinding them for cooking or other purposes.
Few days after the incident, Felecia said reported to the Police in Harper that her fiancé had suddenly died following his flogging.
She continued that the suspects and her boyfriend had a fist-fight after which he didn’t recover until his demise.
Explaining also, 56-year-old eyewitness Samuel A. Williams, a retired sheriff of the Fourth Judicial Circuit court in Harper, told police investigators that on Wednesday, January 19, at about 8:00 pm, while at his residence, he heard noise from the residence of the late Peter Huggins, so he and others community dwellers ran there to find out what was happening.
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“When I got there, I saw the late Peter Huggins coming towards me, asking for help and it was the only thing he kept repeating. Because I know he is[was] mentally challenged so I started to convince him to go home but one guy by the name of Sackor, the suspect, went to him and started to push him out of their yard and he (Alfred Sackor Mombou) went in his house for mortar pestle and hit him for the first time on his back and he started to leave the yard but Sackor followed him, beating him with the pestle so he came at my yard and fell down on his back, but Alfred Sackor Mombou kept knocking him with the mortar pestle in his chest”, Witness Williams narrated to the Police.
He said while the deceased was lying helpless, another boy named T. Boy, came from the same direction of the two suspects, using stick to beat the late Huggins on his left foot until he got cut.
“So when it was too much tried to stop them I told T. Boy and Sackor that if anything happens to the deceased (Peter Hugging) I will tell the police because the way they were beating him, thou it wasn’t my one who was present, many people were there”, he added.
Suspect Alfred Sackor Mombou explained that on Wednesday January 19, 2022 at about 7:30Pm, while in his yard along with other tenants, the deceased was passing by with one Oliver, but while going he (Huggins) stood and asked for help so one of the tenants known as Isaiah gave him 100 Liberian Dollars.
He said after receiving the money, the late Huggins still asked for help so one Dedesco Gweh interjected and inquired which kind of help?
He added that Dedesco then noticed that the victim’s penis had already erected, so he asked him if he wanted woman to which the late Huggins allegedly responded yes, so Dedesco immediately pushed him out of the yard.
According to Suspect Sackor, when he was pushed out, the deceased didn’t stop there, rather, he went to other apartments, allegedly harassing ladies who were in those apartments.
He continued that while in the process, a pregnant woman called Anita, was returning from the bathroom and the late Peter Huggins rushed to her and she fell to the ground that night, and allegedly he started to force himself on her so he (Sackor) quickly ran there to rescue the lady.
He said when he pushed the deceased aside and picked the pregnant woman up, the deceased took stick against him, but someone called his attention and it was how they tussled over the stick, before Mr. Samuel Williams intervened and told him (Sackor) to stop beating the deceased, but denied beating him.
“I was afraid of leaving the stick before the deceased in return hurt me, so I successfully took the stick from the deceased (Peter) and threw it down but Martha took the stick to the deceased’s girlfriend, who later brought it as evidence”, he explained.
Sackor added that the Police later went on the scene and asked them to take the pregnant woman to hospital, which they did, but noted that his friend or accomplice (Brown B. Dalieh, Jr) was arrested based on medical report from the J.J. Dossen Hospital in Harper that disclosed that the victim died from internal organ bleeding and trauma.
However, while at the police station, the both suspects denied committing the alleged act of killing the later Peter Huggins despite engaging him in fist-fight.
The two suspects spent few nights behind bars before the Crime Services Department (CSD) of the Liberia National Police charged them with murder and forwarded them to the Magisterial Court on January 25, 2022, pending trial.
The crime is in violation of Section 14.1 of the new penal code of Liberia, which is above the jurisdiction of the Harper Magisterial Court, so the suspects are expected to be transferred to the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court for trial. Editing by Jonathan Browne
