Port Harcourt serial killer Gracious David-West sentenced to death

Port Harcourt serial women killer Gracious-David-West

A Port Harcourt High Court has found Gracious David-West guilty of killing nine women on different occasions and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Mr David-West was convicted of killing the women in brothels situated in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

He was charged with nine counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Justice Adolphus Enebeli said the 40-year-old was guilty of the murder of Maureen Ewuru, Jennifer Nwokocha, Blessing Effiong, Linda Warifa Samuel, Dorcas Francis, Kelechi Bridget, Onuoha Rose Samuel, Anthonia Ibe and the attempted murder of Benita Etim.

The judge dismissed the case against Nimi Thankgod and discharged and acquitted her saying she only disrespected a corpse.

The trial of the suspects in the Port Harcourt hotel serial killings started since October 2019 after the police arrested David-West on September 19, 2019.

During the trial and even up till the judgement day, nobody showed up in court for David-West and the victims.

The corpse of the women were also not claimed at the morgue.

The court heard that David-West had sex with his victims before binding their arms and feet with strips of white sheets and strangling them.

At the beginning of the case and unrepresented by a counsel, David-West had pleaded guilty to the murders but the judge demanded a trial because of the “gravity of the crime”.