Man bludgeons wife to death with sledgehammer in Bayelsa then commits suicide

 A 46-year-old man, Patrick Markson, has committed suicide after allegedly killing his wife, Hannah, 35, in Bayelsa State. 

The incident occurred at Odede Street, Tombia-Amassoma Road, Yenagoa, the state capital, in the early hours of Thursday, August 26. 

 

According to witnesses, the man said to be a staff of the Yenagoa Local Government, reportedly bludgeoned his wife to death in her sleep with a sledgehammer and she died on the spot.

 

He was said to have watched the woman bleed to death and then drank a poisonous substance suspected to be insecticide, after which he laid close to the bleeding corpse and died.

 

The weapon

 

It was gathered that the couple who had six children together were embroiled in marital disputes prior to the tragic incident. 

 

According to Vanguard, the disagreement bothers on money realised from a contract handed to the husband by some members of his wife's family.

 

Speaking to the publication, a woman close to the deceased woman described her as gentle and that she had no time for conflicts.

 

"Yesterday, we were frying gari, and the husband called me that he wanted to speak with my sister if we were together. I told him that when I get to where she was, I will pass the message. On reaching her, I told her and immediately we tried reaching him but we couldn’t," the woman narrated.

 

“Later he called again, but I had left where she was so he told me to tell her to bring gari for home use. This morning (Thursday), the son called me that the mum was seen dead and he wants me to come

 

"As I was going to the house, I called him and ask of the dad and he told me the dad too was dead. So when I got to their house I went straight to the room and saw them both lying on the bed dead. But I noticed a can of poison by the bed and a big hammer."

 

She added that they had matrimonial issues, but she that had often intervened.

 

"The genesis of their problems was when my husband died and I had a contract which I engaged him to benefit from. After the contract, he got N800,000 for himself and never gave anything to the wife. She was bitter and reported the issue to me. I approached him and told him what he did was bad, because I involved him due to the fact that he married my sister. But I didn’t suspect it would result to this. Now they are both gone,” she added.

 

Spokesman of the state police Police command, Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the incident said the bodies of the deceased have been evacuated to the morgue. 

 

"Preliminary investigation reveals that one Patrick Markson, 46, a native of Onopa, Yenagoa, attacked and killed his wife, Hannah Markson, with a hammer. Thereafter, he drank a poisonous substance and died. Photographs of the scene were taken, the hammer and bottle of the poison were recovered as exhibits. An investigation is ongoing." he stated. 

 

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