The Ondo State Police Command says the teenage girl who allegedly stabbed her aunt to death in Akure was a psychiatric patient. 

The 17-year-old girl had reportedly stabbed Funmilayo Adebayo to death at her three-bedroom bungalow at Premier Estate, Oda town, a suburb of Akure, the capital city. 

The deceased, until her gruesome killing on March 17, was a civil servant in the state ministry of finance. 

Giving an update on Sunday, the police spokesperson in Ondo, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, said the suspect had developed a mental illness since she was six years old. 

“Family members claimed the young girl (Omowunmi) had been under her late Aunt’s tutelage since she was six years old but developed a mental illness in 2023 and was admitted at a psychiatric hospital in the state,” Mrs Odunlami-Omisanya said in a statement.

She said the young girl was discharged from the psychiatric hospital and handed over to her late aunt, who continued to monitor her. 

“The psychiatric hospital where she was treated confirmed this claim by providing the police with her medical history,” the police spokesperson said.

She said the teenage girl, who left home after the incident, has been arrested and is being interrogated to ascertain the cause. 

Mrs Odunlami-Omisanya said the police took the deceased to the morgue, where a mark of violence (stabbing) was observed during a clean-up. She said a knife was also found at the crime scene. 

She stated that the stench oozing out of the house attracted the residents, who notified Ms Adebayo’s sister when her body was already decomposing.

According to her, the suspect claimed that she stabbed the deceased and locked her up in the house because she was always disturbing her to use her medication. 

“The suspect has been placed at a medical facility for safekeeping to avoid injury to herself and others,” Mrs Odunlami-Omisanya added. 

However, Peoples Gazette learnt the girl was brought in as a house help until Ms Adebayo later adopted her as a biological daughter. 

Several neighbours claimed that the late woman had been warned on several occasions to return the teenage girl to her base due to her mental illness. 

“But she (Ms Adebayo) wouldn’t listen. I guess the girl does assist her too, and probably the woman doesn’t want to stay alone and decided to adopt her like her own child,” said one of the neighbours.