Danish man charged with murdering Nigerian wife, daughter pleads not guilty
A Danish man, Peter Nielsen, accused of killing his Nigerian wife and daughter, has pleaded not guilty before a Lagos High Court,stressing that he realised that his wife and daughter had died before a doctor arrived.
Nielsen said he had to cover them with two blankets when he realised they had died.
The defendant testified before the court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, on the second time of his cross-examination which started on Nov. 23.
He was cross-examined by prosecution counsel, Mr Adebayo Haroun, Lagos State Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.
Nielsen is facing charges of killing his Nigerian wife and singer, Zainab, and their three and half-year-old daughter, Petra, on April 5, 2018.
At the continuation of his cross-examination, the defendant told the court that when he woke up at 2:30 a.m. on April 5, 2018, he got snacks and drinks for his wife and daughter before going back to sleep.
Nielsen said he did not perceive any smell of gas in their room at that time.
The defendant said that when he woke up in the morning and did not see his wife on their bed, he went to search for her.
Nielsen said that when he saw his wife and daughter in their kitchen, he dragged his wife to the living room and asked one of the girls living with them to carry his daughter.
“I covered my wife and daughter with blankets after I tried to resuscitate them but realised that they had died,” the defendant testified when asked if he already pronounced Zainab and Petra dead before a doctor arrived.
The defendant was also asked to confirm some evidence given to the court by their housekeeper, one Evelyn, the second prosecution witness.
The defendant, in answering some of the questions, confirmed what Evelyn had given in evidence.
However, in the case of whether the housekeeper was able to enter the kitchen through the back door on the day the incident happened, Nielsen said that the housekeeper used to enter the kitchen through the back door or front door depending on her duties.
He said that the housekeeper was staying at the boys quarters of their residence.
The prosecutor prayed the court for an adjournment of the case, saying he got a call for a personal matter.
Counsel to the defendant, Mr Olasupo Shashore (SAN), did not object to the request.
Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile adjourned the case until Jan. 11, 2022, for continuation of hearing.
The Lagos State Government accused the defendant of smothering Zainab and Petra to death at 3:45 a.m. on April 5, 2018 at No. 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi.
Nielsen was arraigned on June 13, 2018.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the two counts of murder which contravene Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
