Posted by By Ike Nnamdi, The Sun Reporter, New York on
A Nigerian national who police authorities said gunned down his wife in cold blood has pleaded not guilty to the act, in a case that has thrown the country's community in Missouri into mourning.
A Nigerian national who police authorities said gunned down his wife in cold blood has pleaded not guilty to the act, in a case that has thrown the country's community in Missouri into mourning. According to police records, Michael C. Iheme shot his estranged wife Anthonia in a parking lot and calmly called police and said, "I have killed the woman that messed my life up, a woman that had destroyed me," A Hennepin County, St. Louis Criminal Court said Iheme will be subjected to mental evaluation before his trial will commence.
Police said Anthonia, 28 a mother of two children was shot by her husband as she left work at an assisted-living center.
Two witnesses reported seeing a man matching Iheme's description with a gun near his wife's car in the parking lot. County court records showed that she had an restraining order against Iheme because of a history of domestic abuse. One of Anthonia co-workers said she saw her get into her car and then Iheme get out of his car and shoot at her car, which lurched forward, clipped a van, jumped a curb and rolled down a hill into a fence. Iheme allegedly followed the car down the hill and fired more shots.
A neighbor said Iheme stayed home to care for their two children while Anthonia worked to provide for the family. Reports said Anthonia moved out after repeated fights with her husband. American law enforcement agencies have reported a disturbing increase in the number of domestic abuse cases involving Nigerians. According to records, over 500 Nigerians are in jail or awaiting trial in several states for killing their spouses. Socials workers attribute the trend to pressure and stress of juggling sometimes multiple jobs and family, while trying to keep up with the expectations of their families in Nigeria.