By The Circuit Court In Nimba County
PHOTO: Murder convict Ernest Gbarto
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
After being found guilty of hacking his wife to death by splitting her head into two, a 33-year-old man has been found guilty for murder by the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Sanniquellie, northeastern Liberia, as international statistics show the country’s homicide rate has been rising and falling since 2007.
Jurors sitting at the over the weekend brought down a Unanimous guilty verdict against Ernest Gbarto, age 33 for the crime of murder.
At the start of the trial, Gbarto pleaded guilty in order not to join issue with the state but state prosecutors set aside his guilty plea and proceeded with the case by producing evidence against the convict.
On Saturday evening in the New Barracks Community in Sanniquellie City, Nimba County on, December 03, 2022, Ernest Gbarto chopped his wife, Yei Gargbay, age 35, multiple times splitting her head into two halves.
This is just one of many murder cases frequently reported around Liberia on a regular basis.
According to recent international statistics is 3.2 per 100K population.
“Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence..” Murder Rate by Country 2023 (worldpopulationreview.com)
According to court record, the unanimous guilty verdict was brought down against defendant Gbarto after a heated legal argument between defense and prosecution lawyers in the case titled: Republic of Liberia by and through the Ministry of Justice versus Defendant Ernest Gbarto.
The Killing of Yei Gargbay triggered a wave of peaceful marches across Nimba by angry citizens seeking Justice for Yei and other women who have been killed and their rights violated.
Meanwhile, the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Sanniquellie, Nimba County will on Thursday, February 23, 2023 to sentence defendant Ernest Gbarto after the reading of pre-sentence report by the probation office at the Ministry of Justice.