The popular jury trial of Bobo Keita, a 41-year-old Gambian accused of murdering his former brother-in-law in Zaragoza’s Delicias area, began on Monday at the First Section of the Provincial Court of Zaragoza. Keita pleaded not guilty in front of the nine jurors chosen to hear the case.
The Gambian accused named the victim’s best friend as the perpetrator of the murder. According to Bobo Keita, he was the one who tried to calm the argument, separated them, and took the murder weapon on the stairwell.
Bobo Keita made the show
“When I arrived at Ali’s (the deceased) door, I heard a noise and saw blood,” he told Judge Mara Soledad Alejandre’s court.
When asked if he had issues with his ex-girlfriend, Bobo Keita told the judge that he had never argued with his ex-partner, who is also the victim’s sister. “I have no issues with her. “I have never hit her, and I have never insulted her,” said the 42-year-old Gambian.’
Keita dismissed all of the evidence that the National Police Corps agents submitted to the court against him on Monday. When asked why he traveled from Barcelona to number 29 Don Pedro de Luna Street where the murder was committed, the accused explained his presence in Almera by claiming that he was not looking for his ex-brother-in-law or ex-girlfriend. “I was there because a friend was traveling and asked me to get a hotel and wait for his return,” the 41-year-old Gambian explained.
Bobo Keita denied having anything to do with the stolen identity documents discovered in his possession while fleeing the Lleida municipality of Alcarrás.
The accused said in court that he knew Ali (the dead), whom he described as his best friend. Bobo informed the court that his being at Ali’s residence at the time of the murder was entirely coincidental, as he was there to see the deceased’s children. “I’m not sure who he is because I’ve never seen him,” the Gambian answered when asked who murdered Ali. As I neared Ali’s door, I heard a disturbance. I could hear Ali yelling the word ‘Fofana’ through the open door. When I seized the knife from him, I almost went wild. I was terrified, and the only thing I could do was contact my mother, who told me to leave since they were going to accuse me.” Mr. Bobo Keita ended his testimony.
Bobo’s ex-girlfriend describes another picture of the accused
Bobo’s ex-girlfriend, on the other hand, told the court that she had changed her address “many” times to keep Bobo from locating her. So much so that her late brother, Ali, attempted to defend her to the point where Keita threatened to kill him. The lady said in court that Bobo had been sentenced to probation just hours before Ali was killed.
The deceased girlfriend and witnesses incriminate Bobo
The victim’s friend testified as a witness, telling the court that she saw Ali the night before he was murdered and gave him 40 euros to buy meat the next day.
“We hang out together every weekend,” the witness stated, “and he is my best friend.” “I went to the house that day and went to ring the bell when I saw him (the accused) coming down the stairs.” Keita was holding a blood-splattered knife. He didn’t even give me a glance. After that, I heard a loud moan. “I became terrified and very nervous,” she testified in court. I then decided to follow him, but after a few meters, I lost sight of him.
A couple walking down the street with their daughter on the night Ali was killed is another set of witnesses. Someone passed by while I was crossing the street with my family. “We changed the sidewalk; someone came out of a window screaming, ‘He killed him!'” one witness claimed. “It caught my attention that there was a woman at the window screaming that there was blood on the doorway.”
Another witness claims that Bobo Keita’s next stop after meeting the couple was the bathrooms of a local bar, where he washed his hands to avoid leaving a blood stain. He came in and headed straight to the restroom. I had completely forgotten he was there until he came out. “He (Bobo) drew my attention when he said he didn’t want to take anything,” explained one of the waiters.
The hearing resumes on Tuesday with statements from members of the Aragon Police Headquarters’ Homicide Group, who apprehended Keita in Almera after he nearly escaped to his native Gambia.
