Mystery surrounds death of student lovers in hostel(Photos)

A community has been left puzzled after two teenage lovers and students of  Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU)Kelly Okonkwo Gerald, died in their room.. The community woke up, last Monday, to find the students dead in a room at Diamond Lodge. The building is an off-campus hostel.

The late Kelly, who was a student of Entrepreneurship Department, was said to have visited her boyfriend, simply identified as Gerald, who was a 24-year-old 200-Level Public Administration student, in his hostel for the weekend. But, three days after they had been together, the love birds were brought out of the room dead. Other occupants reported the matter to the nearby Oyi Police Station.

When the door was forced opened by the police, Kelly’s body was found beside Gerald, who was said to be unconscious at the time. They were almost naked.

The police rushed the unconscious Gerald to the university’s Teaching Hospital in Amaku, where he died. The late Gerald was the president of Diamond Lodge.

Other occupants, who spoke to our correspondent, described the incident as mysterious, saying the hostel was not attacked by either armed robbers or cultists. Other students living in the hostel and a nearby building, Gift Lodge, fled in fear.

While Igbariam residents are still pondering over the deaths, there are speculations that Kelly and Gerald may have died from some abuse. Some attributed the mystery death to generator fume and food poisoning; others said they could have been attacked by cultists.

It was learnt that the late Kelly had bruises around her shoulders, fuelling fears that she might have been raped to death. Some students believe the death was spiritual, because the victims were said to have attended a vigil together at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, Otoko on Friday, where the preacher warned students on immorality and premature death.

The late Gerald’s friend, who declined to give his name, said:

 “After the vigil, we all came back home to sleep. The last time I saw Gerald was on Saturday morning after he had his bath. At that time, I knew the late Kelly was around. Gerald and I even exchanged pleasantries before he returned to his room.

“There was a downpour on Saturday and I saw Gerald pulling down his curtain and also shifting his generator’s position. So nobody knows for certain what actually happened.”

CAMPUSLIFE gathered an autopsy was carried out on the bodies.The late Kelly’s course mate, Chizoba Onyechi, said 

: “We were working on a farm when the assistant class governor screamed and started to cry. She said she got a call that Kelly had died.  Many of us did not believe the news because she was being expected to join the assignment. We all rushed to her hostel, Gift Lodge, only to discover that the incident occurred at Diamond Lodge.

“I noticed she had bruises all over her shoulders. We carried her body into the waiting police vehicle, because the policemen refused to touch the body. We have been hearing different reports on what caused the death but nobody can say what happened.”

Culled from the Nation