After careful consideration of evidence adduced on Defendant Samuel Yanqae Porte trial of murdering his fiancée’ for cooking cassava leaf,the jurors unanimously agreed that he is hereby adjudged guilty of the crimes of Murder and Aggravated Assault. During the final argument, the Prosecution asked the court to take judicial notice of the case file in these proceedings to include their legal memorandum and the law citations cited and submit to the court. Prosecution stated that they again emphasize to the court to please temper justice with mercy on behalf of defendant Porte, especially with regard to probation where he can be investigated by the probation officer to see whether he has any previous history of committing such act thereby leading defendant (Porte) to be granted within the sentence. The court noted the argument and application by the defense counsel and shall summarize the case and charge the trial jurors so they can go in their room of deliberation after which they will confirm their verdict after carefully listening to the facts. The Prosecution continues to be represented as per the records in court and present in court are: Cllr. Sumo C. Kutu-Akoi and Atty. Randolph Johnson, while the defendant was presented in court by Atty. Wilfred Peter, Atty. Emma W. Sumo and Cllr. Jallah Sumo. Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie ordered the clerk to read the report of the verdict by the trial jurors after their time of deliberation after which he will ascertain from each of the jurors as to whether or not this is his or her verdict. “In obedience to the Judge order that I read the report of the verdict by the trial jurors and thereafter ascertain from them as to whether or not if this is their verdict, I have executed said order and after the jurors were pulled, all of them responded that yes the verdict of guilty is their verdict,” the Clerk reports. Accordingly, the report of the clerk as herein above stated was hereby noted by the Judge in open court. The Sheriff of Criminal Court “A” said in respect to the absent of one of the trial jurors in person of Neketa S. Moore and according to the clerk of court, the trial juror who is absent has forwarded no excuse to the court. However, Judge Willie holds juror Moore in contempt and the clerk of this court is hereby ordered to issue a Writ of Arrest for her to appear in court to show cause why the court should not hold her in contempt.
Meanwhile, both the Prosecution and Defendant lawyers have thirty (30) minutes for the final argument in the case The Prosecution having acknowledged the court receipt of the unanimous guilty verdict that was returned by the trial jurors, they most respectfully requested the court to order the clerk to have said same unanimous guilty verdict recorded in the record of court to form a cogent and integral part of the Proceedings. The Prosecution also requests Judge Willie to disband the trial jury or trial of facts and that they should be retired, band and never to be allowed to sit on the matter, for which they respectfully pray and submits. It can be re-called that Porte, a 49 year old man late Saturday, September 2, 2023, mercilessly murdered his 40 year old partner Sarah Y. Morris, after a reported death threat earlier the same day, because she cooked cassava leaf soup, knowing that he doesn’t like it. “I saw the man with the cutlass in his hands, he had bag, then I asked Samuel what happened, I said it was the children that called me, what happened, he said old ma, your daughter know that I can’t eat cassava leaf, then she go cook cassava leaf, she can’t respect me,” she noted. The victim was unmercifully chopped by her partner Samuel Yanqae Porte, on her head, neck, and other parts of her body, at their Porte Hill residence, in Crozierville, Montserrado County. As established by the victim’s mother, Ma Musu Cox and other family sources, she (The victim) escorted her daughter late that night to attend to nature, but surprisingly got engaged by the murderer, who chopped her several times. “I only heard her shouting mama I’m dying, so I went outside and saw him holding the cutlass over her, so I ran to him and held the cutlass. We fought over the cutlass and then he left it and walked out of the yard,” she said. Ma Musu Cox narrated that the entire confrontation begun earlier that day, when she was informed by the victim that her partner destroyed all of her business materials, because she cooked cassava leaf, and he doesn’t like it. Because of this, the victim’s mother said the perpetrator angrily told her that he wasn’t spending the night at their home, and later threatened unspecified actions before he left. Accordingly, the perpetrator departed the house that evening and then her mother (the victim) too decided to spend the night at their home (the victim’s home), because it was already late for her to return home. With this, Ma Musu said she was shocked when she saw the perpetrator committing the act, considering that he informed them he wasn’t sleeping at the house.
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