Liberia: Princess Cooper’s Death, “Will We Ever Get Justice?

Justice, as they say, is the perfect recipe to help people regain hope and safety, but the family of the late Princess Cooper doubts if justice could ever be served. 

“Could this be justice when the Lebanese National, a person of interest, claimed not knowing you, never saw you in his life but the call log revealed he was the last person that called you and that last call was made at the ELWA junction, where your body was discovered? Will we ever get justice?”

This was one of the many questions that Dr. Abel Momo, spokesperson for the family of the deceased, openly posed to the government during a tribute on behalf of the family at the funeral of the deceased whose lifeless body was found face-down in a fence at the back of the FAWAZ Building Construction Company at the ELWA Junction, Paynesville City, in a pool of blood.

The blood oozed from her mouth and nose, according to the Liberia National Police. And on April 18,  pathologists who conducted an autopsy on the deceased said that she had died mainly of progressive secondary pulmonary tuberculosis, a report the family outrightly rejected. 

The family argued that the deceased had no medical history of TB -- leading to a proactive battle of the deceased body between the government and the family.   The government had accused the family of trying to distort the pathologists' report -- something the family denied.

However, after the proactive battle -- the government released the body to the deceased family -- leading to her finally being interred on August 6, in Johnsonville.  With tears flowing profusely, he asked “Could this be justice when we were flogged, disgraced, and humiliated all because we protested for our sister? Will there ever be justice for Princess?”

“Could this be justice when it took the police six days to request the CCTV footage of where you were found dead at which time all photos were deleted and the crime scene was not protected,” Momo asked.

The Resurrection Power Ministries International Life Church, located on Island Clinic Road, Tweh Farm, where the funeral was held, was crowded with friends, coworkers, and families of the deceased. 

They had all come to pay their last respects to the deceased, a beautician and caterer, who they say left a legacy for which she will always be remembered.

Cooper’s death sparked widespread indignation and protests, with numerous calls for justice, especially that her killer be found and prosecuted. Protesters stormed Capitol Hill, visiting both the Capitol and the Executive Mansion — the seat of the Legislature and the presidency respectively — to present petitions and vent their frustration over how the government was handling the situation.

Initially, the Liberia National Police (LNP) physical forensic examination revealed that there was no foul play in the death of Cooper. 

“Our forensic team conducted a physical examination on the body of the late Princess Cooper from the physical examination [and] observed that there was no laceration, and there were also no bruises,” said police spokesperson, Moses Carter. Our coroner conducted a coroner’s inquest on the body at the John F. Kennedy medical center and that coroner’s inquest that was conducted… for now there has been no foul observed. Our investigation is continuing.”

On April 18, pathologists who conducted an autopsy on the deceased said that she died mainly of progressive secondary pulmonary tuberculosis, a report the family outrightly rejected. The family argued that the deceased had no medical history of TB.

“In our professional and expert opinion, the manner of death is NATURAL,” the pathologists wrote. 

Before the autopsy, the family of the deceased demanded a forensic autopsy on grounds that the cause of death may have been criminal, a request that was denied by the government. As a result, the family did not attend the March 27 clinical autopsy that was conducted by the government.  

“As a family representation, the family authorized me not to attend the autopsy because what they requested was not met,” he said. 

President George Weah later offered to conduct a second autopsy for the deceased and offered the family to source a pathologist of their choice, since they had rejected the first report.  The pathologist appointed by the family to conduct a second autopsy on her remains was unable to fly to Liberia due to the outbreak of monkeypox in 23 countries across the world, including Nigeria, where at least one person had died of the disease.

The pathologist from the Philippines, in an email response to the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean, cited the “outbreak of Monkeypox in West Africa as one of the reasons for my inability to travel to Liberia to conduct the second autopsy”, as agreed upon with the family of the deceased, along with their lawyer, Tiawan Gongloe, and the former president of the Liberia Council of Churches, Bishop Kortu Brown.

The pathologist, Dr. Servillano Ritualo, according to a government release, also mentioned several issues he deemed concerning, mainly his displeasure with the government’s request for a medical license that qualifies him as a pathologist. 

But Liberia’s Information Minister, Ledgerhood Rennie, noted that the government’s requirement of a recent medical license from Ritualo’s was necessary, “even though a medical license is renewed annually by the country in which one practice — in this case, the Philippines.” 

At this, the family demanded the body of Cooper for burial since they felt they could not get the answers they needed from the Government of Liberia. However, the government agreed with a caveat, that the family accept the government’s autopsy reports as final. 

This proposition the family flatly rejected, threatening to leave the body with the Government of Liberia and conduct their own memorial service for Princess.  After many stand-offs between the family of the deceased and the Liberian government, the body was released to the family for final rites and interment. 

Also, the investigation of Cooper;s fiancé, who was named as a prime suspect in her death, appears to have gone cold. 

Preaching on the theme “Heaven a Better Place”, Pastor Clarence Waxson admonished the family and congregation to wipe their tears because the deceased had gone to a better place to rest. “Your daughter has left a legacy despite her death.”

He added that this world is not our home so every Christian needs to have a right standing with God. “‘Be fruitful and multiply is not just about being representative, what Princess was doing is a clear example of being fruitful and multiply, she was catering,” he said. 

Meanwhile, no government official attended the funeral. Civil society organizations that had been protesting the Princess’s death were called upon to pay tribute but, apparently, none were represented that day.