Court Sentences Chiamaka Ifezue To Death For The Murder Of Enugu Makeup Artiste, Ijeoma Nneke

 An Enugu State High Court has sentenced Chiamaka Ifezue to death by hanging for the murder of 27-year-old makeup artist, Ijeoma Nneke, on November 11, 2020.

Chiamaka Ifezue together with her brother, Chukwuemeka, were accused of forcing Nneke to drink a poisonous substance that caused her death and were both arraigned in 2021 on two-count charge bordering on conspiracy and murder.

They were also accused of dumping her body in the Maryland axis of the Enugu metropolis after pouring a corrosive substance suspected to be acid on it.

 Justice K.I. Okpe had during the trial discharged Chukwuemeka after a no-case submission was pleaded by the defence counsel, Mr Chuma Oguejiofor.

Justice Okpe held that there was no evidence that Chukwumeka participated in the crime and subsequently discharged and acquitted him.

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The presiding justice in his final judgment on the case on Wednesday, said the prosecution proved the case of murder against Chiamaka Ifezue beyond a reasonable doubt, agreeing with the submissions of Chinelo Chigbo, who led the prosecution from the Department of Public Prosecution, that she was responsible for the death of the 27-year-old makeup artist based in Enugu.

Ifezue was consequently found guilty of murder and sentenced her to death by hanging.

The court had in the course of the trial admitted in evidence police exhibits on the case of the alleged murder of the makeup artist with Chigbo leading Prosecution Witness 7 (PW7), Sgt. Udeze Oguguo, a police officer, in evidence to tender the exhibits.

Oguguo an officer attached to the Independence Layout Police Division in Enugu, said the exhibits were recovered from the scene of the crime.

The exhibits are: five pieces of 20 British pounds, an iPhone 7 Plus with an MTN SIM card, another iPhone device and a Blackberry phone.

Others are a broken 9Mobile SIM card, an itel phone, another black phone (no brand name), an MTN SIM pack, and makeup tools belonging to the deceased.

The key of a Toyota Metrix car with number plate JJJ410BJ that was allegedly used to move the dead body of the deceased from the scene of the crime to where it was dumped was also tendered in evidence.

Hard copies of the WhatsApp messages and text messages the deceased had with her fiancé and girlfriend, respectively, while at the scene of the crime were also tendered as evidence.