Monrovia – The Monrovia City Court, under Magistrate Ben Barco, has remanded 18-year-old Emmanuel Toe to Monrovia prison following allegations of the rape and murder of 9-year-old Favor Derkpah. The alleged crimes occurred on Sunday, May 4, in the New Land Community, Domah Town, Lower Margibi County.
According to eyewitness accounts, Defendant Emmanuel Toe, also known as “Black Cat,” allegedly raped little Derkpah in her genitals and anus before strangling her to death.
Defendant Emmanuel Toe has been charged with Murder and Rape, in violation of Chapter 14.1 and Chapter 14.70 (a) (i) and (b) of the Revised Penal Code of the Republic of Liberia. He was arrested, informed of his Miranda Rights, and subsequently investigated in connection with the death of Favor Derkpah, a resident of the Saye Town Community, RIA Highway. The victim was discovered unresponsive in a pool of blood in a nearby cassava patch in Saye Town Community, Lower Margibi County, with her vaginal and anal areas ruptured.
The Liberia National Police (LNP) reported that on Sunday, May 4, 2025, Favor Derkpah left her mother, Susannah Whyee’s, residence to fetch water from a nearby well and did not return. Community members searched for her, finding only her empty bucket along the path to the well.
An hour later, Favor Derkpah’s lifeless body was discovered in a nearby cassava patch by Pauline Gbakpah, a resident of the community. The location where the victim was found is a short distance from the residence of Defendant Emmanuel Toe.
The investigation revealed that Emmanuel Toe was seen at the well by Linda N. Konah around the time Favor Derkpah went to fetch water. As Toe was leaving the well with his water, he allegedly intercepted Favor Derkpah on the road where her empty bucket was abandoned. It is alleged that Toe forcibly took her into the nearby cassava patch where the crimes were committed.
Pauline Gbakpah discovered Favor Derkpah’s partially naked and unconscious body lying in an awkward position in the cassava patch, approximately 120 feet from Defendant Emmanuel Toe’s residence.
Post-mortem examinations conducted on Favor Derkpah’s remains at St. Thomas Funeral Home revealed lacerations and bruises in her vagina and anus, indicating penetration by a blunt object.
While Emmanuel Toe denied any physical contact with Favor Derkpah, his younger brother, Divine Toe, reportedly testified that he witnessed Emmanuel Toe committing the act and was threatened when he tried to intervene.
Following the alleged crimes, Toe reportedly fled the scene to his house, took a Bluetooth speaker from his room, intending to sell it to facilitate his escape from the community. His uncle, Weed Ojuku, apprehended him in Yellow Building Community and turned him over to the police in Schefflin Town.
