17-Year-Old Boy Allegedly Cracks Stepdad's Skull With Heavy Pestle, Leaves Him To Die

A 17-year-old boy has been accused of killing his stepfather while the latter was sleeping inside his house in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to local media, the accused used a heavy pestle to crack the skull of the victim who was identified as Adebowale Okuwobi. The incident took place earlier this month, but was reported only Wednesday. The accused was identified only as Junior.

Junior had been living with his mother and Okuwobi for 12 years. He was the youngest of the three children from his mother's previous marriage, Punch Metro reported. Okuwobi remarried after his first wife left him.

Okuwobi’s elder brother, Sunday Adenuga, told the police Junior and his mother fled the scene after they saw Okuwobi in a critical condition.

"My brother and his wife lived together for 12 years without any misunderstanding. The family just received a call that his stepson took a pestle and attacked him while he was asleep. The boy is known to be a chain smoker on the street," Adenuga said, according to the News Guru. “The wife and her son have run away. They knew he would eventually die when they saw his critical condition. Our mother was the one carrying him around hospitals."

The victim had been taken to 10 different hospitals before he died of his injuries.

A neighbor of the victim, Bolorunduro Odeniyi, told Punch Metro the deceased’s 72-year-old mother fainted twice after learning about her son's death.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the attack was reported to the police, but not the death.

"The attack was reported, but not his death. When it was reported, the mother and son had absconded before the police got to the place. That was the last time we heard from them," Adejobi said.

An investigation was underway into the incident, and the police were searching for the accused.

It remains unclear if the mother of the accused had any role to play in the death of her husband. The motive for the attack was not known.