MONROVIA, Montserrado – The parents of a young woman who died in police custody are demanding a full explanation from the government.

Police Spokesperson Sam Collins said Victoria Zayzay committed suicide while in custody on October 20 at a police station in lower Virginia, Montserrado County.

During a visit to their Virginia residence, the victim’s mother, Comfort Zayzay, told The Bush Chicken that she and Victoria’s father, Rufus Zayzay, suspect otherwise.

“My 21-year old daughter was killed by some officers of the Liberia National Police while in their custody,” Comfort said.

The victim was placed in police custody after she was involved in a fistfight with another woman who claimed that Victoria destroyed her market, worth L$1,500. The complainant also said she lost an additional L$1,500 during the fight.

Comfort said her late daughter sustained an injury on her hand during the fight and needed treatment. However, she was arrested by officers of the Liberia National Police on her way to Faith Clinic in the Hotel Africa community.

As typical in the Liberian setting, Victoria’s father pleaded with the police officers to take custody of his daughter, since he was the chairperson of the community. He would bring her back the next day for further processing by the police.

According to Comfort, the commander of the St. Paul Bridge Police Depot, Alex Bracewell, refused because the police had previously received a complaint about Victoria and had been searching for her.

The late Victoria Zayzay. Photo: Rufus Zayzay

“We also tried calling the complainant to come to the police depot to settle the dispute but she refused on grounds that her husband was not home,” Comfort added.

After several attempts by Victoria’s father to pay for the damaged goods and lost money, Comfort said they left the police station for home.

“On October 21, at 6:30 A.M., some police officers came to my house and informed me and my husband that Victoria hanged herself in the holding cell and her body was at Redemption Hospital,” she said.

Comfort indicated that her daughter’s body was deposited at Redemption Hospital under the name Bendu Morris instead of Victoria Zayzay.

The family filed a complaint to Justice Minister Benedict Sannoh, who promised to bring into the country a pathologist to conduct an autopsy on the body.

“During the autopsy, my husband was present, and it was discovered that Victoria was four months pregnant with a boy child,” Comfort said.

She maintained that three weeks after the autopsy was completed, the family has heard nothing from Sannoh, adding that “the body is still lying at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital.”

Although the death of her daughter has caused her many sleepless nights, Comfort said she and her husband have been very peaceful and patient since the incident, waiting for the government to provide an explanation.

“The government is leading us into doing something else,” Comfort said, hinting at the possibility of staging a protest. In the absence of an autopsy report, the family has refused to accept their daughter’s body.

The victim’s father, Rufus, said he was getting angry and frustrated. “My daughter will not die in government custody without any explanation and justice,” he added.

“We are calling on the government to release and publicize the autopsy report of our daughter or else we will stage a mass protest to draw the government’s attention to the issue,” he said.

Rufus said he found it suspicious that his daughter was taken to Redemption Hospital under a different name. He also added that doctors on duty during the time of the incident told him that Victoria died on arrival at the hospital.

Rufus Zayzay, father of Victoria Zayzay. Photo: Zeze Ballah

“The Liberian government has killed two persons from us, and we will not rest without receiving justice,” he said, alluding to the unborn child.

Rufus suspects that his daughter was raped and strangled while in police custody. He points to the officers’ refusal to accept the money to offset damages Victoria caused as an indication that they had an ulterior motive.

The family is appealing to well-meaning Liberians, women’s groups, the United States Embassy, and the international community to help them seek justice. “Those in government are not people to appeal to,” Rufus said.

Victoria also left behind a two-year-old child named Joyce Gray.

Victoria’s two-year-old daughter Joyce Gray. Photo: Zeze Ballah

The Justice Minister, addressing a group of protesting women Wednesday, December 10 following a wave of killings across the country, said specimens from Victoria’s body were collected by a pathologist brought into the country from Ghana.

“The result of the autopsy done on Victoria will be in the country on Friday, December 11, 2015,” Sannoh said.

Sannoh noted that Liberia does not have a pathologist, and whenever there is an incident of such nature, the government has to send for one from another country.

Benedict Sannoh, Liberia’s Justice Minister. Photo: Zeze Ballah

The Director of the Liberia National Police, Chris Massaquoi, also confirmed that the government had not received the autopsy report of Victoria.

Massaquoi said while the government awaited the autopsy report from the foreign pathologist, police suspended all officers on duty at the time of Victoria’s death.

“The findings into the investigation of the death of the victim will be made public when the government receives the autopsy report,” Massaquoi said.

Police spokesman Sam Collins had earlier said in October following the incident that the victim committed suicide while in custody.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah