A housewife, Rosemary Chem said she killed her mother-in-law, Mrs. Ashi Chem, because she concluded it would stabilise her marriage and restore her happiness.
The incident occurred in Abena community in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on Saturday, March 18.
Rosemary, who got married to the victim’s son, Mr. Abaagu Chem in February 2016, had accused her mother-in-law of undue interference in her marriage, which has not produced any offspring.
Her husband, a 43-year-old farmer and petty trader, is the only child of his mother, having lost his father aged 18.
He reportedly ignored his mother’s advice not to marry Rosemary.
The suspect said her mother-in-law had frustrated her life to the point that she threatened to curse her son if he did not abandon the marriage.
Unable to take it anymore, she allegedly stormed the elderly woman’s room when she was asleep and hacked her to death with an axe.
Rosemary said she did not regret her action.
“My mother-in-law made life unbearable for me because I could not bear a child for her son. It has been hell for me from day one of this marriage. My mother-in-law did everything humanly possible for me to leave the marriage.
“She always swore that if indeed she was my husband’s mother, she would not allow the marriage to work. I did everything humanly possible to appease her, but it was all to no avail.
“She insisted that I must leave the house and that her son must get married to another girl. True to her threats, she went as far as getting another girl for my husband.
“I also blame my husband for telling his mother everything about our private matters, including sex, finance and other issues. My husband always complained that I refused him sex most times, even though I told him that I’m not the type that likes to have sex all the time.
Read Also: Chronic kidney disease, not coronavirus, killed Enugu health commissioner – Family
“I don’t have sexual feelings like other women because I was circumcised. But I told him I loved him. We had sex only once in a week, but he couldn’t bear it, and he told his mother who had already developed hatred for me about it.
“My husband decided to focus his attention on the new girlfriend his mother brought for him. Most times, the girl would spend a whole week in my mother-in-law’s apartment with the consent of my husband. When I could no longer bear it, I took the decision to eliminate her so that I can save my marriage.
“I still love my husband and cannot afford to share him with anybody. It is God that gives children. I strongly believe that one day, I will also take in and deliver. It is all in God’s hands.
“She accused me openly of cheating on his son by calling me all sorts of names, which is embarrassing to me. I was ashamed of myself even moving around. I don’t know what I did to her. The trauma and intimidation became unbearable for me, so I was forced to kill her before she would disgrace me out of my husband’s house.
“My parents are no longer alive. If she gets me out of this marriage, where will I go? Ordinarily, I don’t have much problem with my husband. We always have a way of settling our issues. But her interference was overbearing.
“In the midst of these, my husband, who used to love me so much suddenly changed and was completely obeying his mom’s directives and I watched him sleep with the proposed girl by his mother, it was clear that he does not have feelings for me anymore.
“I took the decision (to kill her) because I was ready for the worst. The marriage had become boring and characterized by crisis, courtesy of my mother in law.
“At a point, it became obvious to me that the marriage had irretrievably broken up. I suggested to my husband that since he was convinced by what his mother was telling him, he should let us call it over and I would move on, but he refused. So I concluded that killing her would stabilise my marriage and restore my happiness.
“I hatched the plan for some time but only made up my mind to execute it today,” The Nation quoted her as saying.