PHOTO: Convict Chris Karpeh will now spend his life in jail
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- Criminal Court “A” has today, Friday, March 4, 2022 handed down a life imprisonment sentence for a 19-year-old man for killing his friend with an axe in Monrovia’s Bushrod Island suburb.
Convict Chris Karpeh was unanimously found guilty by the trial jury recently and he has now been taken to the Monrovia Central Prison to begin serving his life term in jail.
Karpeh, who was a student of the Trinity United Methodist School, murdered Shadrach George last year in the New Kru Town community
Prior to the jurors’ unanimous verdict, defendant Chris Karpeh pleaded guilty to the crime of murder and asked court to pardon or forgive him, promising never to repeat such crime.
The defendant begged the court to reduce his sentence on grounds that the defendant is young to go for life.
Defendant Karpeh, committing the act on August 4, 2021, was arrested on August 28,2021.
He was arrested hundreds of miles away in the Putu Jaodee Mountain area and brought to the Monrovia Central police headquarters for investigation, where he admitted to the Commission of the crime.
During the trial, the state was represented by Cllr. Wesseh A. Wesseh, Assistant Justice Minister for Litigation, while the defendant was represented by the office of the public defender
According to police charge street, defendant Karpeh was in violation of Chapter 14, Subchapter “A” section 14.1 of the revised penal code of the Republic of Liberia and he was arrested and acquainted with his constitutional rights, investigated and subsequently charge with the crime of murder for criminally, intentionally and malice afford thought taking an axe from his room unknowingly to the victim and struck victim Shadrach George Weah on the head on August 4,2021.
The victim later succumbed to his injury while taking treatment at the Redemption Hospital on August 12, 2021.
Police investigation revealed that prior to the incident, suspect Chris Karpeh and victim Karpeh and victim Weah had an argument and it degenerated into a fist fight, after which the matter was taken to the Zone One police station.
However, the case resolved and they all went home and was living together in one accord.
Yet, investigation established that on August 28,2021, defendant Karpeh struck the victim on August 24,2021, when he went and took his son’s sim cards from in the phone and destroyed it to make contact tracing impossible for the investigators.