—- Public Concern Mounts Over Police Delays Release Report
IPNEWS: Concerns are now mounting over the failure of the Liberia National Police to make public outcomes from its investigation carried out at the home of former Chief Justice of Liberia, Her Hon. Gloria Musu Scott which led to the death of little Charloe Musu.
In an IPNEWS inquiry, family sources explained that no member of the Scott or Musu families has received from the government of Liberia any report or document including the coroner’s final report, the pathologist, and the police investigative report.
“GOL has not given any report/document. Not the Coroners’ final report, the pathologist’s final report, nor the police investigative report.” Family source hinted IPNEWS.
Up to press those Police authorities had not responded to IPNEWS inquiry on the police failure to make public its investigative outcomes at thew home of former Justice Scott.
On Thursday, February 23, 2023, the Liberia National Police (LNP) in a press release stated that it has begun an investigation into the incident of Wednesday night, February 22nd leading to the death of little Charloe Musu.
Police said former Justice Scott was under appropriate police protection, following an earlier report by Justice Scott in a radio interview that her family had experienced several attempts from suspected burglars to enter her home at night. This report led to an increase in police patrol in the area.
According to the LNP, preliminary findings from the incident which occurred about 9:30 P.M. as narrated by Madam Scott revealed that a man who was part of a crew she hired to carry out some construction work at her residence remained hidden inside at the end of the workday, while his colleagues had retired for the day.”
The name of the man has not been given. And the motive of the attack is not yet known.
Police reported that the former Chief Justice Scott said she had observed during the day that the man, who was looking somewhat “strange”, attacked her family at night and killed one of her daughters when he was tackled.
The Preliminary investigation shows no evidence of a break-in, the LNP press release said.
Subsequently, on March 10, 2023, the Liberia National Police told reporters that former Chief Justice, Cllr. Gloria Musu-Scott was assisting with an ongoing investigation into the attack on her home that left her daughter killed in the Brewerville suburb of Monrovia.
LNP said that the investigation was taking place at its headquarters in the alleged armed robbery attack that led to her daughter’s death.
The ex-Chief Justice’s appearance was the third time she has shown up at the Police headquarters for questioning.
Subsequently, on March 21, 2023, Police authorities in Monrovia released a provisional autopsy report surrounding Charloe Musu’s brutal murder, blaming extensive bleeding caused by multiple stabbings.
Following Charloe’s brutal murder, Liberia’s former Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) chair, Cllr. Jerome Verdier alleged that Monrovia Mayor and ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Secretary General Jefferson T. Koijee ordered Monrovia City Police Officer Varlee Telleh to attack the former Chief Justice.
But Koijee and Telleh denied having any links to the attack against Cllr. Scott and her daughter Charloe’s murder and threatened to file a formal lawsuit against Cllr Verdier both in Liberia and the United States of America where he currently resides.
IPNEWS is yet to determine the extent of the lawsuit against Cllr. Verdier, as there are conflicting accords from multiple sources both in Liberia and the U.S.
As part of the Liberia National Police (LNP) investigation into the incident, the LNP said it has conducted an autopsy on the remains of the deceased.
The Government of Liberia (GOL) through the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the LNP, late subsequently announced the post-mortem examination of the remains of Charloe Musu. The deceased was a student of the privately-run Starz Technology Institute (STARZ College) in Sinkor.
The authorities said the post-mortem examination was done in autopsies, and toxicology samples were taken from the body of the 24-year-old to be analyzed to fully establish the actual cause of her death.
The authorities have vowed to bring the alleged perpetrator to justice.
The LNP reported Tuesday, 21 March that the postmortem examination was held at the ST. Moses Funeral Parlor, along the Japan Freeway.
The authorities indicated that it was witnessed by the deceased’s family members, human rights advocates, and law enforcement officers.
Dr. Benedict B. Kolee told Newsmen that the autopsy carried out on the late Charloe’s remains revealed that she died of severe exsanguination or a massive loss of blood.
He also cited secondary to severe hemothorax chest trauma, which is associated with a collapse in the left lung, after excess blood clotting defects.
Dr. Kolee explained that the deceased suffered chest abdominal, intercostal artery, and massive left hemothoraces.
“She drained most of her blood out, and that bleeding came mostly below the rib, [which] caused the blood inside the chest,” he added.
“You know she was stabbed multiple times, and so much blood inside the chest, caused the death,” he continued.
“That is [what] we have gathered from the preliminary results of the autopsy, with all of the needed evidence we need,” Dr. Kolee added.
According to him, at least 20 persons witnessed the autopsy, saying it was an open one to determine the scientific cause of her death.
The Pathologist works for the Merck Foundation and has performed over 200 autopsies in Liberia.
He spearheaded the autopsy on the remains of the late Princess Cooper who was found lying unconscious in the FAWAZ building materials store along the ELWA Junction, and later pronounced dead in March of 2022.
On the heels of the autopsy report release, the Family of the late Charloe Musu called on the government of Liberia to release the result of the Coroner’s examination of the remains of their daughter.
The family, in a release issued here Sunday, April 2, noted that in the wake of strange discoveries on the remains of their daughter during the recent autopsy conducted by the State, they are suspicious of the government’s delay in coming up with the Coroner’s report or to share a copy with them since February 27, 2023.
According to the family, on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, based on their request, which was granted by the Ministry of Justice with the prohibition on photographs, they viewed the front part of the body of the late Charloe Musu at St. Moses Funeral Parlors along with members of the press and civil society before the autopsy, but the pathologist refused to allow them to view the back side of the corpse.
The family continues that during the conduct of the autopsy, the pathologist turned the body around, at which time it was discovered that the deceased’s underpants (backings) were removed and part of her hair extracted, amid political conspiracy theory by the ruling CDC that Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott might be involved in her daughter’s death for ritual purposes.
The release noted that these discoveries were made after State Pathologist Dr. Kolee said, the report of the autopsy would have been released in two weeks plus or minus, because of the toxicology examination which would be done from a reference lab out of Liberia, and that the autopsy conducted by him is scientific and the result will be the same even if done by other practitioners (pathologists) subsequently.
The family wonders why is the government hiding the coroner’s examination report for more than a month since it was performed on February 27, 2923), but immediately following the conduct of the autopsy on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the Police released a preliminary report of the autopsy in which they said the cause of death was severe bleeding or loss of blood as a result of multiple stabbing.
It says the government’s failure to release the Coroner’s report or share a copy with the family, leaves enough grounds to believe that the physical examination conducted by the Coroner of Montserrado County on the body did not find the extraction of her hair and other strange things noticed during the conduct of the autopsy.
The Musu Family also reiterates earlier alarm that on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, the Police, through the Family Lawyers, requested the appearance of five (5) family members including Gertrude Newton, Alice Johnson (AC), Godson Y. Kollie and the biological parents of the late Charloe Musu, Magistrate Alphonso C. Musu, Sr. and Lucy Musu, father and mother, for questioning, but upon arrival at the LNP Headquarters, police investigators surprisingly had a separate meeting with the father and mother of the late Charloe Musu in which they denied lawyers presence on grounds that they (parents) were not subjected to the investigation but rather Police authorities wanted to express empathy/sympathy with them.
However, it notes that shockingly, during the said meeting behind closed doors, police authorities indulged in manipulating and inciting the father and mother against the family by, among other things, asking whether the both of them had been to the house where the incident occurred to see that the house is very protected and there is no evidence of anybody entering or leaving the house that fateful night.
The police investigators, according to the family, told the late Charloe’s parents to go and ask Cllr. Scott to tell them the truth about how their daughter died.
The investigators also showed the father, photos from a smartphone of one of the senior police officers, at which time the father said he saw the late Charloe Musu lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
According to the family, it’s a mystery how the Police have a photo of the late Charloe Musu lying on the floor of the house in a pool of blood when there was no police presence during the incident and up to the time she was taken out of the house to the Faith Clinic and then the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town subsequently.
This, they said, leaves them to also wonder whether the police had somebody on the scene during the attack or the attacker/murderer had taken a photograph of the late Charloe and sent same to the police.
“In the mind and contemplation of the family, the police, by these actions and statements, which are preemptive and conclusive has the propensity to undermine and alter the actual result of the investigation and continue to reveal a trend of a conspiracy theory intended to make the victims perpetrators of the crime, which clearly gives us, the Musu Family an impression that this investigation will have a concocted and already crafted political outcome”, the release reads.
Meanwhile, the family maintains that they are disappointed and still crave the involvement of international partners (International Community) to assist with an independent investigation into this matter to ensure that due process of law is attained in the murder and assault.
In a related development, Family of former Chief Justice Gloria Musa Scott say they have been prevented from seeing the body of their daughter, Charloe Musu at the St. Moses Funeral Home on the Japan Freeway.
The family, according to a statement, had gone to view the corpse of their daughter and to also hold consultation with the funeral home as to the way forward towards preliminary funeral requirements and arrangements.
“After waiting for a little over fifteen minutes, the head of St. Moses Funeral Home, Moses H. Ahossouhe, informed the family via mobile phone that he was not inclined to grant them access to the body on grounds that he (St. Moses) was under strict instruction from the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean and Police Inspector General, Patrick Sudue, not to allow anybody access to the corpse without their approval,” the family release said.
The family was led to the funeral home by the aunty and uncle of the deceased, Victoria Nimely, and Bishop Julius C. Musu, who deposited the body on the evening of February 23, following her gruesome murder by an unknown assailant at the family’s Virginia residence, on the night of February 22.
The family went to the funeral home on March 4, but were shocked and disappointed to learn from the funeral home authorities that they could not access the body of their “daughter.”
The family said St. Moses’ response came as a deep surprise because the body was duly turned over to them by the Coroner of Montserrado County on February 27, following examination and, since then, there has been no change of the protocol to their knowledge.
They wondered how and why the Ministry of Justice and the police would take control of the corpse as quoted by St. Moses, without any reference to the bereaved family.
