Page 171 of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
JS:It’s always been … [A pause here. Is he emotional, or … nervous? EC] touchy for me.
AB:Would you like to take me through what happened that night?
JS:Well … we were called to a place by the canal in Alperton. Police were already there. We’d been warned there were bodies and a young man injured.
AB:OK, so that would be a normal thing to be told?
JS:Yes. It’s useful so we pay attention to details. If we’re called on by the coroner or police at a later date. That was how I thought of it.
AB:What did you see when you arrived?
JS:There was a young man clinging to one of the bodies. Police were talking him into letting go. But we had to examine him, so we administered a mild sedative. He came away and we checked him. He was uninjured and a police officer arrived … he was taken away.
AB:Did you see the rest of the—
JS:It was very, very bad. [Lots of pauses and hesitation. EC] My first thought was a gang killing. Later I heard it was a mass suicide and they were all members of a cult.
AB:Can you describe that scene a bit more for me? How had the angels been killed?
JS:Gunshot wounds to the head. [Wait…hello? EC]
AB:Sorry?
JS:They’d each been shot once in the head. And mutilated. Throats cut and chest wounds. Entrails extracted and spread around.
[OMG, Mand, is this guy for real? EC]
AB:They’d beenshot? Are yousure?
JS:Yes.
AB:Were those wounds visible? On all three angels? I’ve seen photographs from the scene—
JS:Tiny entry wounds, behind the ear. Execution-style. I checked each of them, looked for pulse and respiration, so I saw closer than anyone. I doubt it would be visible on a photograph.
AB:But it was a crime scene—
JS:Yes. But everyone should have the dignity of being declared deceased. Especially when they’ve passed away on the street.
AB:For sure.
JS:I am from a small village in Nigeria. We believe death is not the end of life, but unless certain traditions are observed, the person will not pass on to the ancestors. They will remain in limbo. It is merely superstition, but for me, I would always make that declaration in my head for a deceased person. Whoever they were or how they died. It is respect.
AB:How many did you declare deceased that night? [He doesn’t answer. EC] Jidi?
JS:Three. There were three people dead. [There’s such a silence here, Mand. There’s something he doesn’t like about that number. EC]
AB:Only there were four bodies that night, weren’t there. [No question mark, because this isn’t a question. EC]
JS:You know?
AB:Yes, it’s a bit clearer now. I think a scene that appeared to be a bloody and chaotic mass suicide presented certain people with an opportunity.
JS:I read later there was another body elsewhere in the building. I’d left by then, so that man was not declared dead …
AB:What is it that plays on your mind about this case, Jidi?
JS:I declared three dead at the scene. Another was found later. Four. Also, a young man was found in a flat. Five. But I read about the case and it says: three at the scene, one at the flat. Four.
