The First Judicial Circuit Court for Montserrado County, sitting in Criminal Assizes “B,” has brought the highly followed murder trial of Bill Jallah to a close with a guilty verdict and a life sentence.
Presiding Judge Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh, Sr. ruled that Jallah intentionally carried out the brutal killing of his girlfriend, Princess Zuo Wesseh, describing his actions as deliberate, savage, and depraved. According to the court’s findings, Jallah concealed a knife under his sleeve, ambushed the victim, and stabbed her multiple times until she lay helpless.
The ruling came just days after Jallah, during his testimony, broke down in court and pleaded for mercy. Speaking from the witness stand, the defendant apologized to the Government of Liberia, to the court, and most painfully, to Princess’s family, her mother Ma-Mad, her son Eddie, and her brother Isaac. “I know that sorry is not enough, but I am appealing for mercy,” he had told the court in a tearful moment.
Judge Wesseh, however, rejected the defense’s argument that Jallah acted in confusion, stressing that the evidence proved otherwise. “His proposed confusion plea should have no room in a civilized society,” the court declared.
Citing testimonies from state witnesses, which were deemed “corroborative beyond reasonable doubt,” the court anchored its judgment on established Liberian case law, including Toopoh v. Republic (1970) and Francis Lewis v. Republic. These precedents underline that intent, malice, and deliberation can be determined by the accused’s conduct and circumstances surrounding the crime, and that a conviction must rest on a valid indictment and lawful evidence.
In its final pronouncement, the court ruled:
“Defendant Bill Jallah is hereby adjudged guilty of Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, and is sentenced to LIFE IMPRISONMENT.”
The Clerk of Court has been directed to issue a mandate to the Superintendent of the Monrovia Central Prison for the immediate enforcement of the sentence.
This verdict closes a trial that has gripped public attention for weeks, from Jallah’s tearful appeal for forgiveness to the final ruling that now seals his fate.
