A pregnant woman, Ebere Obiora, has been allegedly strangled to death by her husband Ikechukwu Obiora for refusing to open the gate on time for him.
It was learnt that the unfortunate incident occurred at Ezi-Ogwugwu, Otolo Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State last Thursday.
According to a family source, the Ikechukwu confessed to the crime when members of the family of the deceased summon him.
The source also said that the marriage was barely six months old but has been filled with domestic violence, unknown to the wife’s family.
Narrating how Ebere lost her life, the source said, “Around 7pm on Thursday, March 2, 2023, the deceased family received a call from the husband’s mother, informing them that their daughter had just slumped and appeared to be dead.
“As soon as they made their way to their in-law’s residence at Ezi-Ogwugwu, they were informed that their daughter had been rushed to the Nnewi Diocesan Hospital at Akwudo.
“At the hospital, the doctor on duty informed them that their daughter was dead after medical check. The deceased family members had to take the body to another hospital, St. Felix Okolo Hospital, Nnewi, where the doctor also confirmed dead before it was eventually deposited at the morgue.”
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The source added that Ikechukwu confessed that on the morning of March 2, 2023, he returned home and was knocking at his gate, but Ebere did not open the gate “immediately”.
Ikechukwu was quoted to have confessed to first shouting at her before slapping and hitting her from the gate and afterwards angrily strangled her to death.
Quoting the suspect, the source said, “I couldn’t believe what happened because I never expected that such actions would lead to her death.
“I eventually abandoned the corpse and left out of fear and confusion, after confiding in few persons who I sought advice on what to do.
“It was later in the evening that my mother reached out to my wife’s family members.”
When contacted, the state Police spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, did not confirm the incident as he did not respond to calls and messages to his phone on the development.
But a senior police officer at the command, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident, saying the suspect would be charged after investigations.