I could not stand pain of ‘broken heart’ - UPSA student killer claims
The taxi driver who allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death at Madina last Thursday claims he killed her because he could not stand the pain of being jilted.
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Paul Evename, 26, is currently being guarded by the police at the Alpha Medical Centre, where he is receiving treatment after he stabbed himself in the abdomen in an attempt to commit suicide.
Paul’s girlfriend, Jennifer Attieku, a third-year Banking and Finance student at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) had threatened to jilt him.
Jennifer, 20, was taken to the Alpha Medical Centre unconscious after she had been stabbed in the throat, head and left breast.
Suspect tells his story
In his statement to the police, Evename said he had been in a relationship with Jennifer since 2011 “and I love her so dearly that I am unable to sleep without hearing her voice. That was why I did not want her to break up with me.”
He said Jennifer informed him she had decided to break up with him during a phone conversation on a night when she claimed he had shouted at her.
“Even though I apologised and told her I was in a bad mood because a friend who owed me had refused to pay, she insisted we ended the relationship,” he said in the statement.
Evename said despite numerous attempts to mend the relationship, Jennifer snubbed him anytime he approached her.
“I sometimes wait in my taxi all day for her to close from her lectures and then she will be in the company of other men and when I call her, she snubs me,” he alleged.
Later, he said, Jennifer told him that as a university student, she could no longer go out with a taxi driver.
Evename told the police that Jenifer’s family, including her elder brother and father, were aware of the relationship, while some of Jennifer’s friends were jealous of how he spent on her in terms of buying items, including provisions for her.
He alleged that he was shocked when Jennifer’s elder brother, Alfred Attieku, told him on phone not to call his sister or visit her again.
Detention by Legon Police
Subsequently, he confronted Jennifer and Alfred on November 10, 2015 and they went to the Legon Police Station to lodge a complaint that he had threatened Jenifer’s life. He was detained because he had followed his girlfriend and her brother to the police station but the police granted him bail on November 11, 2015.
Later, he realised that Jenifer had blocked his number when he sent her GHc20 worth of recharge units and tried calling her a number of times.
Evename said he initially took the decision to commit suicide and, therefore, poured acid from his car battery into a container which he attempted to drink.
“Just as he was about to drink the acid, a police vehicle pulled over by his car and he got scared,” he said
Stabbing at hostel
He told the police that last Thursday morning, he bought a knife costing GHc5 and went to the Obama Hostel at Rawlings Circle, Madina New Road, Accra where Jenifer lived.
According to Evename when he knocked on her door she chuckled when she saw him and shut the door. When he knocked again, Jenifer came out and there was a confrontation, so he went for the knife from his taxi.
He said he aimed at the left side of her chest with the intention of stabbing her heart, but he missed and rather stabbed her on the throat.
In a second attempt, he claimed he stabbed Jenifer on the left breast and then finally on her head after which he saw his girlfriend fall and hit her head against a wall. He therefore decided to end his life by stabbing himself in the abdomen.
Waiting for suspect’s recovery
When contacted, the acting Madina District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr. Happy Michael Addae, said the police were waiting for the suspect to recover fully before they continue their investigations.
He also said the Madina Police had contacted the Legon Police for the docket on the case which was reported by Jenifer and her brother.
He indicated that Evename had currently been charged with murder and attempting to commit suicide.
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Quick read
Police officers investigating the murder of a banking and finance student of the University of Professional Studies, Accra have obtained the statement of the taxi driver who allegedly committed the act.
Paul Evename is currently on admission at the Alpha Medical Centre at Madina, near Accra.
