Liberia: Leaked Audio Reveals Diverging Account of Murder Incident At Former Chief Justice's Residence

Monrovia — FrontPageAfrica has acquired an audio recording that seems to capture a telephone conversation between co-defendant Gertrude Newton and an unidentified individual. In this conversation, co-defendant Gertrude offers an account of the events surrounding the untimely demise of Charloe Musu at the residence of former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott. Strikingly, Gertrude's narrative appears to diverge significantly from the information provided to the police.

In the audio, Gertrude can be heard wailing while simultaneously narrating the intense struggle between herself and the unidentified man, who she alleges was an armed robber that attacked the home of the former Chief Justice and mercilessly stabbed Charloe multiple times to her death.

Gertrude, former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and Allison Johnson have all been charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement officers. They have been detained at the Monrovia Central Prison and attempts by them to secure bail have all fallen flat since murder is a capital offense.

In this leaked phone conversation, Co-Defendant Gertrude is heard telling the caller that she fought with the assailant and took the knife from him and he then began to fight her back to take it from her when "Esi" [perhaps Charloe] came in the middle.

She also recounted that the armed robber removed his shirt and started hurling stones at her, prompting her to retaliate by throwing stones back. Additionally, she mentioned that the assailant reached for a stick, which prompted her to search for one as well. However, due to the debilitating effect of pepper spray in her eyes, by the time she could find a stick, he had vanished.

She also told the caller that the security guards assigned to the compound were nowhere to be found the incident unfolded, however, it was her yelling that prompted neighbors to rush into the compound to their rescue.

She also informed the caller that the security guards assigned to the compound were nowhere to be found when the incident unfolded. However, it was her cries for help that spurred the neighbors to swiftly rush into the compound and come to their rescue.

Co-defendant Gertrude's account in this telephone conversation could suggest that the tussle between and the assailant happened outside the house.

However, the accounts given to the police indicate that all their encounter with the assailant occurred inside the house.

Though she said in this telephone conversation that the security guards assigned to the compound were nowhere around, accounts given to the police rather revealed that it was the security guard who heard shouting in the house and rushed to Cllr. Scott's room window to inquire what was happening in the house. It was that he was informed that they were being attacked in the house.

According to the accounts stated in the police report and the indictment, upon being told that there was an attacker in the house, Security guard Zion Tarr left to call his commander, Moses Wright. Wright arrived with Tarr and assigned security guard Musu to the window of Cllr. Scott's room. 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, according to the police investigation, remained outside in anticipation that the alleged assailant/armed robber would come out of the house but that was to no avail.

The police investigation also established that 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 informed police investigators that he discovered Charloe was 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.

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.

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