Monrovia — From the onset of the killing of 30-year-old Charloe Musu at the residence of former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott, the public was immediately made to believe that she was the victim of an assassination attempt on the former Chief Justice. However, the question that even Cllr. Scott could not answer was why would anyone want to kill her.
The prevailing notion that Cllr. Scott was targeted gained significant attention, particularly after she recounted a distressing incident where an unidentified man unlawfully entered her residence and repeatedly stabbed Charloe for her courageous opposition. This was further compounded by allegations put forth by Cllr. Jerome Verdier, presently residing in the United States, implicating Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee in the assault. According to Verdier, Koijee allegedly dispatched Varlee Tarlee, a former combatant and officer of the Monrovia City Police, to assassinate the former Chief Justice.
Koijee vehemently denied the allegation and turned himself over to the Liberia National Police for investigation.
The allegations against Koijee and the reported statements by Cllr. Scott has had an adverse effect, leading many to believe that the case is politically motivated.
The Murder Charge
According to the police, Charloe was subjected to a brutal stabbing, with nine wounds inflicted on her chest, right hand, armpit, and left thigh using a knife that co-defendant Gertrude Newton claimed to possess. Additionally, her face showed signs of being peeled, which investigators believe could have resulted from exposure to a foreign substance, potentially pepper spray. The police have stated that there are grounds to suspect the use of pepper spray on the victim's face, as Cllr. Scott acknowledged in her statement to law enforcement that she discharged pepper spray on the supposed assailant's face.
However, in an attempt to convey that there was an assailant in the house, security guards heard crying from within the house and approached Cllr. Scott's room window. Co-defendant Gertrude informed him that someone was attacking them in the house. Security guard Zion Tarr then left to call his commander, Moses Wright. Wright arrived with Tarr and assigned security guard Musu to the bathroom window of Cllr. Scott. Tarr and Wright proceeded to the room window of co-defendant Rebecca Youdeh Wisner. Gertrude then went to Rebecca's room and requested the security guards to break the window to allow them to escape. The security guards complied, enabling Gertrude, Rebecca, and Alice Johnson to exit the house through the window.
The security guards remain outside in anticipation that the alleged assailant/armed robber would come out of the house but that was to no avail.
Some members of the community who jumped over the fence to provide help decided to enter the house through the same window since the intruder was not coming out.
A community member named Amara S. Tarwuleh entered the house through a window and informed police investigators that he discovered Charloe lying in a pool of blood. He and one of his friends assisted in moving her onto the back of his friend. Subsequently, they approached Cllr. Scott and requested her car key. According to Amara and his friends, the entire house was securely locked. Utilizing the backdoor key provided by Cllr. Scott, they swiftly exited the house with Charloe. They urgently transported her to the hospital and subsequently returned to the house in an attempt to locate the alleged intruder, but their efforts were in vain.
The Alleged Coverup
According to the indictment, Cllr. Scott, leveraging her experience as a lawyer and criminal justice practitioner created a story that would shield them from the gruesome act of murder. According to the police, co-defendant "Getrude narrated a story no reasonable mind would ever believe". She had told police investigators that after the alleged assailant stabbed Charloe in the back, she took the knife from him but he took it back from her and continued to stab her, thus, causing the multiple stab wounds.
Cllr. Scott also told police investigators that she applied the pepper spray on the intruder in the doorway to her room, before escaping.
Police investigators established that fleeing the house through the window, co-defendants Gertrude and Alice Johnson returned to the house on the night of the incident and took away several items which were concealed in a plastic bag. Police investigators believe the items taken from the house that night include murder weapon/conspiracy agency. They were seen by security guard Tarr who was still in the compound.
Based on the available evidence and circumstances, it is apparent that the Defendants deliberately altered and concealed the blouse worn by the late Charloe Musu during the violent assault on her before transporting her to the hospital. Additionally, they prevented investigators from accessing a locked room in the house, which had been inaccessible for several days due to Co-Defendant Gertrude Newton refusal to grant them access. The police were, however, compelled to open the room in the presence of Gertrude Newton's legal representatives. Bloodstains linked to the deceased were discovered in various parts of the room, along with a torn bra believed to belong to the deceased.
The defendants, as stated by the police and indicated in the indictment, exhibited a callous disregard for the life of Charloe Musu. Instead of utilizing the available time to promptly transport the deceased to the hospital for medical assistance after she was purportedly stabbed by an unidentified individual, they chose to devote that time to devising and fabricating a false narrative, claiming that they had witnessed a man inside the house.
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In addition, during that period, they also took the opportunity to switch the blouse worn by the deceased at the time of her stabbing. Nurse Comfort Saydee from Faith Clinic informed investigators that there were no holes or puncture marks on the blouse when the deceased was brought to the hospital. Co-defendant Gertrude Newton, according to the police, in an attempt to strengthen their deceitful narrative, deliberately created a delay to allow people to enter the house. She swiftly left the bathroom of co-defendant Scott and was observed entering the room of co-defendant Wisner, where she instructed security guard Zion Tarr to break a window and facilitate their exit.
It is evident, according to the police, that the defendants were fully aware that pepper spray had been used in the house by co-defendant Scott. She claimed to have sprayed the eyes of the alleged suspect when he confronted her at her doorstep. However, despite this knowledge, they failed to immediately call for help, even as the deceased bled helplessly in the bathroom of co-defendant Scott. Instead, they engaged in a futile attempt to distract the security personnel, intentionally prolonging the time it took to address the urgent matter at hand. By doing so, they displayed a complete disregard for human life, which is a clear demonstration of the crime of murder committed under circumstances that exhibit extreme indifference to the value of life.
