The National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) has condemned the recent attempted killing of a young lady identified as Jessica Lloyd by an American national, Lucas Richard in Caldwell.
Richard is the Executive Director of Administration at the Indigenous Mission TIM, Inc., a Creekside-supported missionary.
NCSCL, which is the apex body of all civil society organizations in the country, is also calling for the swift intervention of the religious community, most specifically the Liberian Council of Churches (LCC) as well as speedy investigation into the act by the Liberian government.
Residents of Caldwell on the Bushrod Island Montserrado County woke up to the sad news on Friday over the dreadful situation surrounding the attempted murder of Jessica by Lucas Richard.
In a video, Jessica Lloyd revealed that while driving their way from Bardnesville, they irrelevantly stopped at different locations, because Lucas Richard insisted that he wanted to urinate and take a walk in the cemetery. According to her, Lucas Richard requested for three breaks in less than an hour, before they arrived to where the incident occurred.
Following the different breaks along their way, she disclosed that he didn’t harm her until they got to an isolated area, where he again insisted that he needed to address an issue he had with his vehicle tire.
She narrated that she was asked by Lucas Richard to aid him in repairing his vehicle tire, and at said at this point he suddenly hit her head with a huge iron, and started beheading her.
However, she said while in the process of beheading her, she was rescued by a kekeh rider. Jessica explained that the kehkeh rider then hit Richard from his back, but he (Lucas) still managed to escape the scene before later being arrested by officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP).
Accordingly, the CSO Council in a statement signed by Chairperson Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai indicated that this barbaric act by the American national should be investigated to the fullest with so that he would face the full weight of the law of the Republic of Liberia.
The Council is urging the entire religious community, pressure and rights based groups to join the campaign of raising their voices loud in seeking justice for Victim Jessica.
“The National Civil Society Council strongly condemns the reported attempted murder of a young lady – Jessica Lloyd, a Caldwell resident and a Liberian. We are saddened by this barbaric act and hereby call on the religious community, especially the Christian community; notably the Liberian Council of Churches to stand tall in this. We are all calling on all pressure groups and rights based organizations to join this campaign in seeking justice for the victim. This is a life of a Liberian that could have just been lost for no reason,” said the Council’s statement.
“We want to also thank the Liberia National Police for being up to the task to ensuring that the perpetrator was arrested, but this should not be the end. We are following this to the letter to ensure that justice is dispensed speedily,” added the Council.
