Malison Garpeh, aged 26, has been forwarded to court by the Liberia National Police (LNP) after a thorough investigation into the death of Promise Bowah’s along with her daughter Faith Miracle Davis.
Based upon the charge sheet, Magistrate Ben Barco reminded the defendant of his Miranda rights and mentioned that the crimes charged are above his jurisdiction and immediately transferred the matter to Criminal Court “A” of Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie.
Defendant Garpeh was later sent to the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach) for murdering two persons. The deceased with her daughter lived with Malison in the same house for less than a year. The charge sheet revealed that on Thursday, September 26, 2024 in the evening hours, Emmanuel Dehkee, one of the occupants of said house was seated on the front porch of the house along with defendant Malison Garpeh and after a while victims Promise Bowah arrived with her little daughter Faith Miracle Davies, aged 6, and they all sat on the porch at which time victim Bowah told her little daughter to go and get her water from their room to drink, but the little girl got afraid and insisted that until her foster father, defendant Garpeh, goes with her into their room but defendant Malison Garpeh refused and victim Promise Bowah immediately went for the water herself.
The investigation revealed that Defendant Garpeh, victims Bowah and Faith went to bed while Dehkee went into his own room and ensured that the front door to the house was locked.
After an hour, two other occupants including Alexander Jackson and his girlfriend Ruth Lackay arrived at the house, and they went defendant Garpeh’s window to help them open the front door to enable them enter the house.
Subsequently, defendant Garpeh opened the door for Alexander Jackson and Ruth Lackay and they went straight into their room and did not come out until the following morning.
The investigation uncovers that the next morning on Friday, September 27, 2024, about 0500hrs-0600hrs, Ruth Lackay woke up from bed to clean the house when she noticed a thick stain believed to be blood leading from the defendant’s bedroom through the living room to the back door and she hurriedly woke up her boyfriend Alexander Jackson who also came out from his room and flash the light to where his girlfriend earlier saw the blood. They knocked on the defendant’s door but there was no response leaving Jackson to immediately run to call a police officer who lives in Hast Town by the name Junior Carter, while Ruth Lackay began to knock on occupant Emmanuel Dehkee’s door, who also woke up and saw the stain believed to be blood.
Police investigation said while the defendant was carrying on the gruesome act in his bedroom the occupants of the house did not hear sound as they were asleep.
According to the charge sheet, after defendant Garpeh committed the crime, he passed through the back door of the house and fled into the cassava bush where he was hiding until Sunday, September 29, 2024, when he was arrested by citizens of Hast Town, Robertsville, White Plain, Montserrado County.
During Police CSD Investigation conducted, it revealed that victim Promise Bowah had been in a relationship with the defendant as boyfriend and girlfriend for less than a year and living together under one roof in a three bedroom house situated in Hast Town, Robertsville, White Plain, Montserrado County, where defendant Garpeh is the caretaker.
Prior to victim Bowah’s death on Friday, September 27, 2024, she had been living with defendant Malison Garpeh for the past 11 months along with her daughter Faith, while also carrying a five months pregnancy.
The investigation concluded that the defendant knowingly, intentionally and purposely committed the gruesome murder under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life against the victims and fled through the back door of the house.
Defendant Garpeh who did not tell investigators why he killed the victims, only said he used a cutlass to carry out the murder and left in the garage of the house. During search, two cutlasses were discovered from the garage but the defendant claimed it was not any of those cutlasses he used.
The charge sheet said based on the facts established in the case coupled with chop wounds seen on both victims, it resolved to charge the defendant with the commission of the crimes’ Murder and Aggravated Assault in violation of Chapter 14 Subchapter A, Sections 14.1 and 14.20 of the Revised Penal Law of Liberia.
By T.Q. Lula Jaurey
