Despite lots of public awareness regarding the issue of the crime of murder and its consequences, it seems that these conscious alerts fall on a stony soil, as three young men have allegedly fallen prey to the act and have been sent to jail at the Monrovia Central Prison. The men to include Victor Kemmie 20, Nathan Clement, 23, and Benedict D. Kennedy, 22, allegedly murdered Lewellyn Brent at his Central Matadi residence on September 27, 2024.
On Thursday, October 17, 2024, the Liberia National Police forwarded to the Monrovia City Court the three suspects for multiple crimes such as Murder, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Theft of Property, Criminal Mischief, Criminal Conspiracy and Armed Robbery committed on Friday, September 27, 2024 between 2:00am-5:00am.
Based upon the police’s action, Magistrate Ben Barco of the Monrovia City Court sent the three men to the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach) in connection with the charges levied against them. Based on the charges, Magistrate Barco ordered the clerk of court to transfer the matter to Criminal Court “A” pending trial.
Defendants Kemmie, Clement and Kennedy allegedly committed the crimes as a result of conspiracy consummated by the defendants against victim Lewellyn Brent who met his brutal demise after defendant Kemmie and his cousin Nathan criminally intruded into the victim’s residence and physically assaulted him, thus inflicting severe multiple wounds on his head, leaving him to bleed profusely while defendant Benedict D. Kennedy remained outside serving as watchman.
According to police charge sheet, Clement and Kemmie with the aid of Kennedy, used a scaffold that was lying down beside the window to climb and reached the window bar installed in the wall, which they removed before entering the victim’s apartment.
The investigation revealed that the defendants conspired and passed through the window to enter the deceased apartment before gaining access to a warehouse where they took a cartoon that was sealed up belonging to the victim, but Defendant Kemmie who was carrying the items was intercepted by Mr. James Moses, a neighbor to Lewellyn Brent; as such, the cartoon was thrown down and left abandoned by the defendant.
Prior to September 2024, defendant Kemmie who is one of the close neighbors to the deceased, had been conniving with defendant Kalowee to be identified to steal victim Lewellyn Brent’s properties from his apartment.
The investigation said that a Samsung cellphone belonging to the deceased which was stolen after the attack was retrieved by police and defendant Victor Kemmie was linked as the person who gave the phone out, while victim Brent’s laptop, including his cash (approximately US$750.00) stolen from within the apartment were never retrieved.
The investigation uncovers that the wounds inflicted on the head of the deceased is clear evidence that the defendants used an object to be identified. Probably, were the defendants to be caught on the scene, the murder weapon/s would have been retrieved, but in the case, the defendants had sufficient opportunity during and after the commission of the crime to have disposed of the said murder weapon/s.
The investigation collected two knives (black handle and brown rubber handle) respectively, including a black handle Hammer from victim Lewellyn Brent’s three bedrooms apartment, but could not link any of the objects as instruments used in the commission of the crime.
Police concluded to charge the defendants with the commission of the crimes of Murder, Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, Burglary, Theft of Property, Criminal Mischief and Criminal Conspiracy in violation of Chapters 14 & 15 respectively, Sections 14.1, 14.20, 15.32, 15.20, 15.51, 15.5 & 10. 4 of the Revised Penal Law of Liberia pending trial by court of competent jurisdiction.
Murder is defined as the unlawful killing of another person without justification or excuse, and with the necessary intent as defined by the law.
Liberia is considered an “abolitionist in practice” when it comes to capital punishment, and the last time it executed someone was in 2000. In July 2022, the Senate passed a bill to abolish the death penalty. However, Liberia did expand the scope of the death penalty in 2008, which was criticized internationally.
