A High Court of Lagos has sentenced Peter Nielsen, aged 54, to death by hanging for the murder of his Nigerian wife and daughter.
A Danish man, Nielsen, was convicted by Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile, for two murders that were brought by the Lagos State Government against him.
In a ruling that lasted for more than five hours, Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile found Nielsen culpable of two murders as per Section 223 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.
The murder was carried out on April 5, 2018, around 3:45 am at their residence located on Banana Island in the Ikoyi area of the state.
During his trial on June 13, 2018, Nielsen argued not guilty for the two counts of murder, after which the trial started.
During the judgment, Justice Okikiolu-Ighile stated that she depended on the post-mortem examination that was held by Professor John Obafunwa, the consultant pathologist on the deceased person.
His examination told that Zainab died when her mouth and nose were closed forcefully, which deprived her of proper oxygen.
She also had bruise marks on her neck and head that were consistent with sharp force trauma.
As per the pathologist, Zainab and Petra died because of head injuries and suffocation, which they could not have caused.
The court held many testimonies provided by the prosecution on whether the deaths were caused by the accused (Peter Nielsen). The witnesses included a housemaid, Zainab’s sibling, as well as two police officers who testified of domestic violence incidents by Nielsen on his wife.
The court mainly held Pepe, Zainab’s sister, as a witness of truth because she had testified of a fight that she saw between the pair in 2017, further adding that the accused had also threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone about what she witnessed.
