The mystery of a body found on the River Thames in London that has not been solved even after 20 years

 BBC News

(news world,)This is the longest unsolved murder case in the recent history of the London Metropolitan Police.

Twenty years ago, a young African boy was murdered in a horrific manner. His head, legs and arms were severed and his body was dumped in the River Thames.

His identity remained a mystery, but investigators called him "Adam."

There have been several arrests over the years, many forensic investigations, but no one has been charged with murder.

I have watched this case from the beginning, I even went there to find out the truth about what is generally believed to be the birthplace of the child. Twenty years later, I am now talking to people who have been closely associated with this case.Some people are talking for the first time.

And we also visited Adam's unmarked grave in a large cemetery in south London.

September 21, 2001: Body discovery

The body was found in the River Thames near the Globe Theater.A passerby was the first to see the body.

Eden Munter was crossing the Tower Bridge in central London at the time. He had to arrive at a business meeting.

It was only 10 days after the 9/11 attacks in the United States and the city was still shrouded in mysterious silence.

The waves were high at that time," Eden recalls. I thought it was a tailor's slim. '

They don't talk much about the case.

Then it came under the floating bridge and then I looked at it carefully, that is, the marks of the body and the wounds on it."

Police pulled the body out of the water near the Globe Theater upstream.

This is the memory that Eden still lives with today.

"I still think about it.I will never forget it as long as I live. 

Eden Munter (pictured 2021) first saw Adam's body in the River Thames

First week

The black boy's body had been in the water for about 10 days. He died of strangulation. His arms, legs and head were expertly amputated and have not been discovered.

There were no signs of physical or sexual abuse and the baby was fed on a full stomach. There was nothing on the body except orange. And that's what led investigators to make the first major breakthrough in the case.

It was labeled "Kids and Company" and could only be found in a few German stores.

Nick Chalmers was a detective sergeant at the time and one of the police officers assigned to the case,the most mysterious and complex case of his career.

Retired Detective Nick Chalmers at Adam's grave in 2021

Of course you have to do with this case and then the passion to find the answers to the questions. One thing that has remained for 20 years is the anxiety that we still haven't got all the answers."

They have information like the encyclopedia of this case and they keep many copies of the files of this case at home.

Just a week after the body was found, investigators called on the public to help with the BBC's Crime Watch UK program.

About 60 people contacted but no progress was made.

Relationship with Africa

Investigators took an unprecedented step to name the boy. In addition, a reward of up to 50,000 was provided for information leading to the convict's death.

Tests revealed that Adam was between four and seven years old and had lived in Africa for some time before his death.Remains of cough syrup were also found in his stomach.

If his temper was bad, did his killers worry about giving him medicine? Or did he just not pay attention when you tell him something to do?

Experts agreed that because Adam's body had been skillfully dismembered, the killing was part of a ritual.

Some thought it was like the unique 'Muti' murder in southern Africa. In such killings, sorcerers use the victim's body parts for their clients who either want to succeed in a business deal or are lucky.

According to other experts, it is most likely a human sacrifice, a distorted form of Eurobank beliefs in Nigeria. It offers this heinous sacrifice to Ocean, the goddess of water and fertility.

Later forensic evidence further strengthened this view.

April 2002: Nelson Mandela's appeal

In April 2002, a police team visited his home country to meet with former South African President Nelson Mandela. Mandela called on the whole of Africa to show up for Adam's family.

Scotland Yard has informed me that according to the initial indications of their investigation, the boy is from somewhere in Africa, so if anywhere, there is a family in the most remote village on our continent with a son of the same age. If it is lost in time, then contact the Khudara police.

July 2002: First development

Then in July 2002, social workers in Glasgow, Scotland, raised concerns about the safety of the two girls. She was living with her mother, an African woman in her 30s.

Local council officials found strange ritual items in his home. During a court hearing on child custody, a woman named Joyce Osagieid told stories of mysterious gangs, murders, and sacrifices.

A shrewd police officer found it so strange that he decided to call the murder unit in London.

Detective Sergeant Nick Chalmers searched Joyce's home and found the same clothes labeled 'Kids & Company', the size of Adam's orange.

Joyce was arrested.

Police officers are showing another pantry similar to the one found on Adam's body

The police became convinced that she was an important part of the story, but she herself was nervous and kept changing her story. She said she didn't know anything about Adam, but she couldn't understand this unusual coincidence about clothes.

Police have not charged Joyce. She remained in Glasgow, awaiting the outcome of her asylum application.

September 2002: Nigerian relationship

A memorial service for Adam was held at City Hall in London in September 2002, a year after Adam's release. It was attended by about 30 policemen, scientists, pathologists and several experts involved in the case.

In September 2002, a bouquet of flowers was laid on the River Thames in Adam's memory

"What probably existed as (Adam's) family was people who knew him through interrogation," says Nick Chalmers.

Forensic work continued, and by December Adam's DNA indicated that he belonged to West Africa.

Significant tests on bone samples estimated that he was born in a strip near Benin City in southern Nigeria.

It is the hometown of Joyce Osageid.

The case was discussed on the BBC's Crime Watch UK program in 2002 Pollen samples from Adam's throat showed he was living in the south-east of England a few days or weeks before his death.

He also had in his stomach a strange substance made of African river clay, which contained grass, crushed bones, and parts of gold and quartz.

The presence of ashes revealed that the mixture had been burned before the baby was forcibly fed. Maybe that's the reason for the cough syrup, a sweet thing that helped swallow this disgusting thing?

November 2002: German relations

Joyce Osagieid, who was arrested in Glasgow without charge, had his asylum application rejected by the Home Office and deported.

Nick Chalmers and his boss, Detective Inspector Will O'Reilly, also flew with him to Nigeria on a specially chartered plane.

It was hoped that he might break his silence during the flight and provide some important information about the murder, but he did not.

When the plane reached Lagos, investigators did not disembark and returned straight. Joyce disappeared.

Shortly afterwards, German police discovered that Joyce had been living in Hamburg until the end of 2001, the same city where the orange lizards found on Adam's body had been purchased.

More arrests

Something very significant happened in London in late 2002.

When police arrested Joyce, they found that only two numbers were safe on his phone. One number belonged to a man named Musa Kumara.

It was found that he was living in a house in London. There, police found the skull of an animal with a nail attached to it, several solutions, and small packets of mud.

Also found was a videotape called 'Rituals'.It was a drama in which an adult was beheaded.

Apparently all these things belonged to Nigerian rituals called jojo.

Investigators also found out that Musa Kumara's real name was Kingsley Ojo.

He was released on bail after failing to link directly to Adam.But there is clear evidence that Kingsley Ojo was involved in human trafficking.

Within hours of his release, he reached out to his criminal accomplices who were helping Nigerians enter the UK illegally.

He was considered a key figure in the gang that smuggled people into the country.

Kingsley Ojo was arrested in East London in July 2003

In July 2003, 21 men and women were arrested in coordinated raids at nine locations in London after monitoring their every move and locating their criminal accomplices. Kingsley was one of them.

October 2003: Doomsday Plant

Specimens of plants found in Adam's stomach were sent to botanists at the Royal Botanical Gardens in the United Kingdom. In October 2003, they came to a surprising conclusion. Adam was fed two different plants. First of all, they found particles of a plant called Calabar bean. It is also called Doomsday or Doomsday.

It is traditionally used in witchcraft ceremonies in West Africa.

When fed in this amount, it paralyzes but does not cause pain.

In addition, crushed seeds of Datura plant were found inside them which cause drowsiness as well as delirium.

Datura seed capsule

Investigators believe Adam was fed the mixture before cutting his throat. It will leave them paralyzed and helpless, but they will still know what is happening to them.

July 2004: Kingsley Ojo sentenced to life in prison

Police found enough evidence to charge Kingsley Ojo, not in connection with Adam's death, but in four counts of human trafficking and the use of forged documents to obtain passports and driving licenses.

He pleaded guilty in July 2004 and was sentenced to four years in prison and deported upon release.

Ojo was known by many different names and, according to investigators, he was leading a 'large' network that brought hundreds of people to Britain in order to lure them into sex trafficking, domestic slavery and extortion. Can be used.

Investigators hoped Kingsley would have a secret about Adam's death.

I found out in Braxton Prison that he had a reputation for being a 'big man'.

He is accused of holding jojo ceremonies at the behest of other prisoners for money. An inmate warned police.

December 2004: Hearing

In December 2004, a trial for Adam's death resulted in an extrajudicial killing.

The hearing described how he suffered a sore throat while still alive, which led to his death.

2005: Kingsley Ojo offers support

From his cell in prison, Kingsley contacted the team investigating Adam's death. He said he had secret recordings of Joyce in Nigeria by his colleagues.

He claimed that he wanted to separate his name from the incident by helping to find Adam's killer.

Investigators interrogated him after his conviction and before his deportation. He convinced the team that he could help and was released in late 2005, apparently living in East London to help with the police investigation.

For two years he provided information to the police, and on one occasion claimed that Joyce was returning to Britain, but this claim was not substantiated.

He accused another woman of leading a human sacrifice ceremony in September 2001.

Police kept an undercover agent at the woman's church for several months, but investigators concluded the allegations were baseless.

In December 2006, Adam's body was buried in an unmarked grave in London Cemetery.

Adam's unmarked tomb in London

The funeral did not belong to any particular sect and was attended by a handful of police officers who worked on the case from the beginning, including Nick Chalmers and Will O'Reilly, who was soon to be promoted to detective chief inspector.

2008: Kingsley Ojo is deported to Nigeria

Investigators concluded that they could not trust Kingsley Ojo. He was still believed to be using fake identities after his release from prison for government financial gain.

Then in 2008 he was deported to Nigeria.

During his deportation hearing, Kingsley maintained that he had "done his best" to assist in the investigation.

In Nigeria, Joyce reappeared and was interviewed by police. She eventually admitted that while living in Hamburg, northern Germany, she had taken care of 'Adam' and bought the orange panties on her body.

But she said nothing more and then disappeared.After years of trying,I was able to find a woman who knew Joyce in Germany.He has never spoken to the media before.

Rhea Mathews is a social worker reviewing claims for government benefits.

He met Joyce and her two daughters in Hamburg.

He remembers seeing Joyce twice in the summer of 2001 with a small child and now realizes that the child could be Adam.

This could make Rhea one of the last people to see Adam alive.

Rhea Mathews, who may be one of the last people to see Adam

Rhea says: 'I think about this case again and again. To me he was a very shy and caring child. He was a self-contained and isolated child. He would stay in one place and not move at all.

Rhea says Joyce would treat the child as if it were a 'necessary trouble' for her. "It was as if they had to keep the baby with them, because maybe they didn't want to keep it out of their sight or they didn't want the baby to do anything on its own."

2011: Photo of Adam

The investigation continued for three years but no new clues were found. But when investigators searched the belongings of a friend of Joyce's in Germany, they found a pile of photographs. One of them was a five-year-old boy looking straight into the camera.

This photo was taken in 2001.

Nick Chalmers was skeptical about whether it could be Adam's picture, but he was no longer working on the case and a new team of investigators took over.

Then in early 2011 the photo was given to ITV News who tried to find Joyce in Nigeria.

Joyce said the baby in the picture was Adam and his real name was Akpomovosa.

He said he had taken care of the baby but had handed it over to a man named Bawa.

It seemed that the questions regarding Adam's identity had been answered.

But investigators failed to verify the child's identity and proceed with the investigation.

2012: Meet Joyce in Nigeria

A year later we got the answer to why. Suddenly Joyce's brother Victor called me from Nigeria. He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture, and that his confession had been obtained through torture. He and Joyce wanted to set the record straight.

Joyce Osageid in Nigeria, in 2012

I went to Benin City with Nick Chalmers, who by then had retired from the Metropolitan Police. We found Joyce living in a small house in a low-income area. She was very happy to meet us, but at times she felt nervous.

People knew he had mental health problems.

Joyce tells us that the baby in the picture was originally called 'Danny', which Nick and I managed to find in Hamburg.

In addition, Joyce gave Adam another name, Patrick Erhabour, which we failed to confirm.

We finally showed Joyce one more picture. He immediately identified the man as Bawa, whom he said had handed Adam over to him in Germany in 2001.

This photo was taken by Kingsley Ojo. This is the first time he has made such an accusation.

Nick Chalmers and I managed to find Kingsley Ojo in Nigeria but he refused to meet us. However, they agreed to talk to us on the phone.

He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture. And there is really no evidence to link them to this murder.

To date, Kingsley Ojo has not been charged

But former investigators believe he still holds the key to the case.

Commenting on our report, which aired in early 2013, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said any new information would be "thoroughly investigated."

2021: The issue is still unresolved

It has been a "cold case" since 2013 and no significant information has been uncovered in the investigation.

But there has been significant progress. I kept in touch with Joyce's brother Victor and he told me last year that Joyce had died.

One of the last people connected to Adam and possibly a key witness is no more.

Eden Munter, who first saw the body in the river, was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He says he felt very helpless thinking that the body discovered belonged to someone's son.

'It's shocking why this happened. Who did that This is the hardest thing. He was a small child with a personality and was cruelly offered a ritual.

The lack of answers for retired investigator Nick Chalmers is still troubling.

"It simply came to our notice then. Those responsible for his death are present and have not yet been brought to justice.

Twenty years later, I wish we knew Adam's identity and his parents. In fact, he is a child of his family who does not even know that he is buried in London.