PHOTO: The crowd that rushed to the scene where the body was discovered near the Benson River
By King Brown, Sarwahking@gmail.com
BUCHANAN, Liberia-Police in this southern port city in Grand Bassa County have launched an investigation into the suspected murder of a 20-year-old man whose body was discovered with multiple wounds in the Benson River Community outside Buchanan.
Community dwellers in the area found the late Abraham Mandeh lifeless body in a pool of blood floating on the river with face up and several deep wounds inflicted on his head through the use of a sharp object.
The incident reportedly occurred last Wednesday night and his body was discovered Thursday afternoon, December 14, 2023 lying on the river under the Benson River bridge when officers of the Liberia National Police, County Health Team, and Community leaders arrived to examine.
According to Saturday Garsayne, father of the deceased, the late Mendeh left his house in Monrovia more than three years ago and moved to Buchanan with a friend whose name is unknown. He also said he does not know which community his son’s friend was residing in Buchanan.
The deceased father said that since then, his son has not returned home until he heard about the discovery of his lifeless body.
During police preliminary investigation on the crime scene, Mr. Garsayne said only his wife, mother of the deceased, knew her son’s unidentified friend, but for him, he got to know him when he heard about his son’s death and came to Buchanan on Thursday afternoon.
“He was living in Buchanan with his friend. I do not know which part of Buchanan he was living in, only his mother knows the friend he was living here with and not me because since he left the house, it has been more than three years and this is my first time to even see his friend” he added.
In tears, Mr. Garsayne further said “I don’t know whether he can smoke or not, rather steal motorbikes or be involved in criminal activities, but I know he to be a footballer” the father said.
The deceased was described by some eyewitnesses as a motorbike’s thief and a hardcore criminal that many peaceful citizens have suffered from though police say they get no report on him concerning such allegations.
Also, the brother of the deceased, Emond Bawayo, a resident of Monrovia, said he was saddened that the only thing he would see was his little brother’s dead body.
Prior to his death, Mr. Bawayo said the unknown friend who his brother was residing with in Buchanan informed him at 6 am via telephone that the whereabouts of the late Abraham Mendeh were unknown, and they were searching for him.
He said it did not stay too long when the very same friend informed him that an unidentified group of people beat his brother to death.
“We got the information by 6am from his friend who he was here with called us about one month ago, they cannot see my brother. Later, we got the information that people beat on him and killed him. So, we, the brothers, sister, mother, father, and other relatives came to see for ourselves” the brother said.
For his part, Mr. Daniel Clay, Chief Inspector of the Crime Services Division of the Liberian National Police in Grand Bassa County alleged that from his examination, the 20 years old man was severely beaten and killed in a nearby town and dragged towards the bridge and thrown into the river to destroy evidence.
Inspector Clay said the perpetrators did it so people could believe that he died from drowning in the Benson River. He emphasized that the late Abraham Mendeh was murder, evidenced by the dragging marks, deep cut to his both legs veins, which appears to be that he and his murderers fought before his death.
He said from the nearby town to where the incident happened, which is a 25 minutes’ walk away from the bridge, they found sticks, stones, knives, cutlass, and other weapons with blood stained on them.
Inspector Clay said “he was beaten and killed in a nearby town and dragged to the bridge so people can say he drowned, and he died. He did not die from drowning, but he was murder. We saw a dragging mark, cut to his both legs vines which appear to be like a real fight including the use of other deadly weapons”.
Without delay, a 15-man jury headed by Williams Wah, and the Officer In Charge of the Liberian Government referral Hospital in Buchanan Joseph Zondo examined the corpse and reported that the late Mendeh was gruesomely murder though there was no part extracted from his body.
Following their careful observations, the police turned the body over to the deceased family for preservation as they launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise.
His death has sparked concerns among residents of the Benson River Community, but local county authorities are urging residents not to panic as they are doing everything possible to handle this matter.
Apart from this incident, another unknown man believed to be disadvantaged youth was seen on Tuesday lying unconscious on the main road leading toward the New Buchanan Block “C” Community. It was alleged that he was thrown near the roadside by his friends to draw public attention to his health condition.
However, he reportedly died on Thursday night and he has been buried by his family members.