— As American missionary ‘tried to slit throat of Liberian wife after terminating pregnancy.’
IPNEWS: The speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Bhofal Chambers, is calling for justice in the attempted murder case of young Jessica Lloyd.
According to report, an American national identified as Lucas Richard, recently attempted to murder Jessica Lloyd, after he slit her throat with a knife in Barnersville.
Speaker Chambers intimated that the domestic violence meted against the young Liberian lady Jessica, contravenes the laws of Liberia including other international treaties.
He maintained that prosecuting suspect Richard, will prevent such recurrence and protect the rights of all Liberians.
The Speaker made the comments Tuesday, September 19, 2023, after he visited and identified with victim Jessica Lloyd at the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital.
Meanwhile, the Liberia National Police-LNP, said it is investigating the American national on allegations of Criminal attempt to commit murder and aggravated assault.
The victim of attempted Murder, Jessica Lloyd, is currently undergoing treatment at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia.
An American national, Lucas Richard, recently meted and inflicted bodily wounds on her in Barnersville.
The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Bhofal Chambers, visited and rendered financial support to her Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
Explaining her ordeal, Jessica revealed that Lucas earlier picked her up from her home informing her that he wanted them to go view a certain waterside located in the Barnersville area.
According to her, when she and Lucas arrived at the waterside, some thugs where there who requested money. But he told them that he had missed the road to his destination. So they directed him to where he said he was going.
“But firstly, before we got down from the car, he took out the knife and said ‘you know I am afraid of snakes; so in case we see snake, we can kill it. So he got down from the car and put the knife in his pocket,” Jessica narrated.
The victim said later on, Lucas walked her down into a bush off the main road claiming he wanted to urinate; she offered to hold their water bottle while he passed urine.
But she said after peeing, Lucas told her he had seen something under the bush like an animal and she should come nearer to see it.
Jessica narrated further that being afraid, she only stood at a distance from behind him.
Jessica: “It’s like when I was going to go closer he was just going to kill me right there. When he finished peeing, I said wash your hands. He said thank you but I want to use sanitizer. When we went a bit in front he said he wanted to pee again in some kind of bush. He said stand behind me; you know these small children can be passing around. That’s how I stood behind him but not too close. When he finished, we took the direction where the car was packed.”
She stated that they then drove to the road leading to the Saint Michael School in Barnesville to get on the route towards Duala.
The victim narrated further that after Lucas drove passed all the crowded places, she told him they should just find place around there and talk instead of going further.
The victim further explained, “then we came across a cemetery. He said sometimes in America we go at the cemetery to view graves, look at the names of the people who have died and when they died. I said no; I don’t want to go there; I’m scared of graves. So that’s how we went in front small into a bush… So he said the car tyre had problem and he wanted to change it.”
Jessica noted that she sat in the car while Lucas went to fix the tyre; but later he requested to get down and help him.
Later, she said Lucas then gave her a tool and instructed her to try to loosen one of the bolts on the tyre ring while he unscrewed another.
“So I was turning the screw. He said oh there’s dirt in your hair, and put his hand in my hair and opened it up… said he was cleaning the dirt. Then he hit it (Jessica’s head). I heard booop… I fell on the ground and started jerking. When I woke up, he pushed me back on the ground,” Jessica narrated.
She said after she fell to the ground, Lucas then took out the knife from his pocket and started cutting her neck, but she was not feeling the pain because he had apparently drugged her while in the car.
According to the victim, while cutting her neck, a young man who had been watching the suspicious scene came running towards Lucas with a stick causing him to get off her to flee for safety since the situation had gained the attention of angry mobs.
However, Lucas told police investigation that he was not the one who harmed Jessica, who pictorial evidence revealed he had traditionally married.
He said while he was yet changing his car tyre, a motorbike ran into Jessica who was standing on the sidewalk. But while reaching out to help the victim, the motorbike rider started shouting and calling crowd on him.
On Friday, speculations broke up that Lucas had since been extradited to the United States of America since US citizens are not allowed to be tried by other nations, but the Liberia National Police said it was still investigating the American national on allegations of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder and Aggravated Assault.
Meanwhile an American missionary Lucas Richards working as a missionary in Liberia has been arrested in Liberia for the attempted murder of his second wife just weeks after she announced her pregnancy.
Jessica Lloyd’s family is further accused Lucas of allegedly injecting the woman “with unknown drugs” that terminated her pregnancy. After the arrest, the Liberia National Police began investigating Richard for his crimes against the Liberian woman.
Jessica survived the ordeal and is now telling her side of the story – which Richard denies, saying that Lloyd was simply hit by a motorcycle after she insisted on getting a ride home herself. Initial reports states that Lloyd was keeping her silence, but authorities managed to coax the story out of her.
Following Richard’s arrest, the Creekside Church that he was affiliated with made a statement that “Lucas is not a member of Creekside, but of a church in Liberia which he founded consisting of its own board of elders and accountability structure… an eyewitness from Liberia [said] that Lucas had in fact entered into a 2nd marriage with Jessica, which neither we nor his wife had any prior knowledge of.”
Lucas Richard was a missionary who married a Liberian woman – and now stands accused of attempting to kill her.
Jessica Lloyd ended up marrying an American missionary after the two crossed paths at the boarding school she attended.
In his statement to the police, Richard said that the victim had asked him for $150 (£119) to buy food at the local supermarket. After shopping, he dropped her along the roadside so she could catch a motorbike that would take her back home. “From there, we decided that I could drop her. She will get a motorbike while standing on the road. I saw a motorbike come from nowhere and hit her,” he said.
The victim vehemently denies this story and claims that her husband she “traditionally wedded” had attempted to kill her with a knife. Richard, a Missionary of the Creekside Church, moved to Liberia with his American wife an unknown period of time ago. Lloyd was attending the mission where Richard worked. He told her that his “wife was old” and he wanted to marry Lloyd, as a second wife. Polygamous marriages account for a third of all marriages in Liberia, according to reports.
After Richard proposed marriage, Lloyd got permission from her parents to go ahead, and the two officially began their relationship. “My daughter confided in me, and I suggested that we meet this man. She informed me that he was already married to an older woman. A week later, both of them came, and we held a traditional wedding ceremony.”
The mother went on to reveal that after the wedding, Lloyd returned to her boarding school. “She later called me to express concerns about her pregnancy. I assured her we would visit the hospital upon her return to town. She confirmed that Richard was aware of the situation and was supportive.”
