By Yusufu S. Bangura
Princess Wilson, the manager of Virtues Funeral Home in Kingtom, testified last Friday in the ongoing murder trial of Abdul Kpaka, who is accused of killing his girlfriend, Sia Fatu Kamara.
Testifying before presiding judge, Alhaji Momoh Jah Stevens, Wilson explained that her duties as manager include receiving bodies, examining them for valuable items such as watches and earrings, preserving them, and taking photographs for future reference.
She stated that she unwraps bodies in the chapel before transferring them to the preservation room.
Wilson said she recognized Kpaka in connection with the case from the day he came to the funeral home. She recalled receiving a call on August 13th, 2024, at around 2:30 p.m., requesting her to collect Sia’s body.
Afterward, she instructed her driver, Prince, and another staff member, Ansumana, to collect the body from Goderich. By 4:00 p.m. the same day, Ansumana, members of Sia’s family, and the accused, Abdul Kpaka, arrived at the funeral home.
Upon their arrival, Sia’s body was taken inside the chapel. Wilson welcomed the family members, who expressed concerns about the condition of the body. She then unwrapped the white blanket covering Sia and examined the body but did not find any valuables. She proceeded to take photographs of Sia’s body.
“When I uncovered Sia’s body in front of Kpaka and her brothers, I noticed scratches on her body, her upper lip was cut, her jaw was swollen, and there were scratches on her right leg.
After that, they all began to cry. I saw Kpaka crying and walking around the body. I asked him if Sia was his sister, but he told me she was his girlfriend,” Wilson testified.
She added that when she attempted to take the body to the preservation room, Sia’s brother, Sylvester, asked her to wait as they wanted to have a family meeting. After some time, Sylvester instructed her to proceed with her duties.
On August 15th, 2024, Sylvester called to inform her that they would need Sia’s body for an autopsy at Connaught Hospital. The following day, on August 16th, Sylvester collected the body, and her driver, Ansumana, transported it to the hospital. Before leaving, Wilson handed the body over to Sylvester.
After an hour, they returned the body to the funeral home. Wilson took photographs of Sia’s body using her office iPad, which was produced and tendered as evidence in court.
However, defense lawyer Emmanuel Teddy Koroma objected to the tendering of the iPad, arguing that the prosecution had not provided the photos when serving the witness’s statement, describing it as “trial by ambush.”
In response, state prosecutor Yusifu Isaac Sesay contended that the defense team was not entitled to the iPad itself, arguing they were following due process since the witness had authored the photos. Judge Stevens ruled in favor of the prosecution, overruling the defense’s objection.
During cross-examination, the defense counsel confirmed that Wilson had been the manager of Virtues Funeral Home for three years, though she admitted to having no professional experience in funeral management.
She also revealed that no document from Emergency Hospital had been provided by Sia’s family when the body was brought in. Furthermore, although it is part of her duties to provide forms for the deceased’s family to fill out, she did not mention this to the police or the court.
Justice Stevens adjourned the case to Friday, October 25th, 2024, for further hearings.
