Liberia: Mother, 36, Charged for Burying Child Alive

​​​A 36-year-old woman in Gbarnga, Bong County has been accused of allegedly murdering her two-day-old baby. 

Lorpu Keselee, according to a police report,  has admitted to the crime and has been charged with murder and forwarded to the 9th Judicial Circuit Court to await prosecution.

The child was subjected to abuse and subsequently buried alive - a premeditated act that falls under the category of first-degree murder, the police report added.

 In Liberia, first-degree murder is considered a capital offense that can result in either life imprisonment or the death penalty. However,  Liberia is classified as an "abolitionist in practice as the last execution was in 2000

“The suspect told police investigators that she killed the child because the father denied or disowned the pregnancy,” the police report claimed. 

 “ Lorpu claimed that she had suffered a lot as a result of the situation and that there was no one to help her during the pregnancy. She said that she could not continue suffering after giving birth, that's why she buried the child alive,” it added.

Keselee's alleged crime comes a few months after a 24-year-old woman in Nimba County committed a similar act.

Pauline Toe, according to a police report, committed the alleged act on the grounds that she was bullied for the unpleasant physical appearance of her child.  

The child, the police report claimed, died as a result of asphyxia and was secretly buried in the process. 

 “After the child had died, she found a nearby rubber farm and secretly buried the baby in an old pit,” the police claimed. “This was done in the presence of Victoria Gonquoi, who is 15 years old. The minor would later remain mute as she was threatened after the incident on January 5.”

“From what we have learned so far, Pauline Toe was being bullied that her child was ugly and malnourished — a situation which pushed her to commit this unspeakable act, which is a crime.”

child in Totota, Salala, District #6, Lower Bong County.

The 

Meanwhile,  police in Bong County have begun investigating the death of a 12-year-old whose lifeless body was discovered lying in a bush in Totota, Salala District.

The deceased, the police claimed, had been missing for a week before his corpse was found on May 10, nearly decomposing.

The police have, however, arrested two suspects in connection with the crime.