Crime of Passion

Policeman shoots his wife, commits suicide
 By Mbeh Moses Eben in Yaounde
The junior superintendent of police, Vincent Effio, 41, has shot his wife, Barbara Lokombe Effio, to death and then killed himself in Yaounde, on Friday 9 May 2014.
    According to eye witness information, Vincent Effio walked into his wife’s office at the headquarters of the Housing Loans Fund, Credit Fonciers at down town Yaounde, and after a brief but heated altercation between the two, he fired several bullets into the wife’s thoracic cavity before he also lodged several bullets into his head. Both of them reportedly fell and died in the woman’s office. Barbara Effio had worked at the Credit Fonciers for only two years. She served at the legal department of the company.

    Family sources say the love between Vincent Effio and his wife had broken down suddenly and the wife no longer wanted to live with Vincent. She therefore filed for divorce. But Vincent apparently was not ready to part with his darling wife.
    On the fateful day, Vincent woke up early in the morning and went and hid himself somewhere around the precincts of his wife’s office. Reports said the wife came in at about 7.30 a.m. But it was at about 8 a. m. that Vincent set out for his suicide mission. He reportedly strolled into the wife’s office, asked her if she was still bent on getting the divorce. She reportedly answered in the affirmative and asked the husband to live her office. We learnt that husband and wife were exchanging bitter words at the door of the wife’s office when suddenly the sound of gun shots was heard. Eyewitnesses said the Barbara Effio had turned and was moving towards her office desk when the husband gunned her down with his revolver. And before people rushed to see what was happening he also fired himself in the head and fell besides the wife.
    A mammoth crowd had gathered in front of and inside the building by the time elements of the fire fighters brigade came and took away the slain bodies that were already drowned in their own blood. Vincent and Barbara were laid in front of the building for a while before they were taken to the Central Hospital Mortuary, amidst wailings and sobs by family members, colleagues and on-lookers.
    The Police have reportedly opened investigations to ascertain the real cause of their colleague’s disgraceful showing.