Lucas Richard Spends First Night at the Monrovia Central Prison

Monrovia-September 19, 2023: The Judge of Magisterial Court in St. Paul Bridge John Griggs has sent Lucas K. Richards, an American National, to the Monrovia Central Prison for allegedly slicing the throat of his girlfriend Jessica Lloyd in an attempt to Kill her. The incident allegedly took place in in Palm Farm Community, Dixville.

Defendant Lucas was charged with the crime of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder and Aggravated Assault in violation of Chapter 10; Section 10.1, Chapter 14.

According to the police charge sheet, the defendant knowingly, purposely and intentionally attempting to cause the death of victim Lloyd by hitting her on the head with a heavy or blunt object which caused her to go unconscious, and subsequently used a sharp object (knife) to slash the throat of her.

Defendant Richard also denied ever having a direct involvement in the incident which led to victim Lloyd sustaining a deep laceration on her throat.

Police investigation furthered that victim Lloyd and defendant Richard met at the Y. W. A. M. Bible Mission, situated on the Roberts Field Highway in 2022 where she and her brother Jesse Lloyd attended as students and defendant Lucas Richard was at said Mission as a teacher. While attending the Mission as a student, victim Lloyd and defendant Lucas Richard got involved into a love relationship which was subsequently followed by a traditional wedding that took placed at victim Lloyd family residence at Patience Shop Community, Dwahn Town, Barnersville.

The police investigation also explained that before the incident on Thursday, September 14, 2023, defendant Lucas had been financially assisting victim Lloyd and her family during visitation to the Lloyd family’s house and out of the family residence.

Accordingly, during the victim and defendant love relationship, Victim Lloyd told police investigators that she got impregnated after they visited some Counties namely; Margibi, Nimba, Montserrado and Grand Cape Mount for Bible outreach for three Months but the pregnancy was aborted after the defendant administered an injection on the human person of the victim and also gave her some tablets to take.

According to the police investigation, on Thursday, September 14, at about the afternoon hours, the defendant visited the residence of the victim’s family where he carried some goods items.

“After spending some times at the Lloyd’s residence, he asked the victim to accompany him out of her residence so that they could sit together for him to console her for the loss of her pregnancy but before leaving the house, he left US$ 150.00 with her brother Jesse Lloyd to aid in the upkeep of the family,” the police narrated.

The police said, “When defendant and victim left the house, he drove towards the small St. Michael School direction where they entered a supermarket on the main Japanese Freeway, Garnerville and purchased some food stuffs before boarding the vehicle.

The police investigation maintained that the defendant took routes leading towards Barnesville and onward to the Kebah Community before going towards Dixville Community using the Main Streets and It is alleged by the victim that the defendant drove off the Main Street when they entered the Dixville Community where the victim realized that they got very close to a river bank where they saw group of persons believed to be disadvantage youths who came around him, asking for financial help but the defendant got back into the vehicle and drove a little distance away.

The police said that the defendant asked that they both disembark said vehicle, adding they disembarked the vehicle,the defendant was seen pulling a knife from a cage and as he walked into the bush. He told her that he was holding the knife because he is afraid of snakes and if any snake attempts to bite him, he will attack it.
“Defendant Richard returned to the victim and later walked the opposite direction of said bush where he claimed to have seen an animal and wanted her come closer to him to see the animal but she did not follow him,”the police investigation added.

The police further that defendant Richard immediately returned to victim Lloyd with the knife in one of his hands, asked her for them to board the vehicle which she did and they drove off and later got on the main Street, running through Dixville and turned the vehicle head towards the direction of Dixville Junction, Caldwell Township and while in route, and therefore asked the victim for them to sit at a cemetery alongside the road so that they could have a quiet time but she registered to him that she did not want to sit at a cemetery as such; they continued their journey until they reached within the vicinity of Early Memorial School alongside the Main Street, specifically Palm Farm, Dixville Community where the defendant stopped the white land cruiser on grounds that one of the tires on said jeep had developed problem.

In the quest of defendant to inflict serious body wounds on the victim and take away her life for reason/s best known to himself, he implored several tricks as mentioned above but took advantage of an opportunity when he placed the victim under the pretense that one of the tires under the jeep did develop problem and at that junction he asked her to assist him by placing a vehicle wheel ring on one of the tires at the passengers’ side of the vehicle and while she was doing same, the defendant seized the
opportunity to struck her with and instrument at the back of her head and started to pull her in the grass very close to a water stationed in a drainage along the road side where the incident took place.

But before defendant Richard struck the victim at the back of her head, witness Ernest Philip who lives behind the Early Memorial School,located Palm Farm Community, Dixville where the incident occurred had left his house to get his grandmother clothes from a tailor within the same Community was already standing alongside the main road, specifically the direction where the white land cruiser jeep was parked and was looking at the direction of the vehicle where the defendant and the victim were positioned, did see him striking victim Jessica with an object which he could not easily identified since indeed he was standing about 200 feet away from the scene but being concern as to what was it that the defendant was hitting the victim,
witness Philip hurriedly proceeded thereat but while on his way, he picked up a reed stick which he held in his one of his hands .

When the witness got on the scene, he saw defendant Richard pulling victim Jessica in the grass and was slashing a portion of the victim neck using a knife and at that point, and therefore witness Philip raised the stick he was holding at the defendant who also raised the knife that was in one of hands at witness Ernest Philip, thus leaving him (Ernest Philip) to alarm for assistance before some residents of said Community and by passers arrived to the scene where they met the defendant with the knife in his hand and the victim bleeding profusely from her neck and at the back of her head.

Meanwhile Defendant Lucas is behind bars awaiting trial.