Jealous woman watering her sleeping boyfriend acid She was sentenced to 14 years in prison because she mistakenly thought she had an affair.
28-year-old Esther Afrifa bought a liter of sulfuric acid online to attack Kelvin Pogo and hid it by the bed in their shared home Wembley, Northwest London.
Afrifa-who mistakenly believed that Mr. Pogo was secretly dating a college classmate-poured acid on his chest while he was sleeping, and then spared no effort to prevent him from receiving emergency treatment.
More than four hours after the first attack, Afrifa carried out a devastating second attack on his boyfriend who was already injured on the sofa, and poured more acid on his face and torso.
Sentenced to Afrifa to 14 years Harrow Crown Court, Judge Charles Bourne QC called it “a truly evil thing.”
He said: “You have prepared a weapon, and you know it will cause extremely severe disfigurement and terrible pain. You armed yourself and deliberately implemented that plan.”
Mr. Pogo, a 29-year-old from Basildon, moved to the UK to study film. He was hurt physically and mentally, was permanently blind, and was terrified of his budding film career.
“I have always dreamed of bringing the Oscars to my hometown,” he said. “I dream of becoming the next Spike Lee, a filmmaker who makes things important. I have problems with my eyesight and it is difficult to see through the camera viewfinder, but I will do it.”
Kelvin Pogo has severe burns to his face and body
/ Kelvin PogoHe told the standard: “I wake up every day like the day she attacked me. It’s like time has stopped. Every time I knock on the door I am afraid that someone will hurt me. She used to be my world, and she did it to me. I just can’t understand.”
Mr. Pogo, who is now troubled by suicidal thoughts, added that he has left 42,000 pounds in medical expenses and is now worried that he will be forced to leave the UK.
He said: “I am very worried because my visa has been destroyed and I still need to do more business in the UK.”
The court learned that Afrifa carried out the attack on December 22, 2019, when she falsely suspected that her partner was cheating. She poured acid on Mr. Pogo’s chest at 3:30 in the morning, and the acid quickly burned through his T-shirt. .
He used holy water to treat his wounds without realizing that his girlfriend was responsible for it-asking her for help. But she pretended to dial 999, prevented his friends from calling, and cancelled the taxi that took him to the hospital.
Mr. Pogo said that Afrifa tried to trick him into drinking the acid she put in a Nike sports bottle, claiming it was tap water. He said that he was saved because he had distrusted running water since he was a child in Africa.
When Afrifa was lying on the sofa and Mr. Pogo poured acid on his face and body, he screamed and fled the apartment, got help from a passing stranger, and finally got medical assistance.
Judge Byrne ruled that Afrifa posed a continuing danger to the public because he ordered her to serve at least two-thirds of her 14-year sentence and obtain an additional three years of license after her release.
Due to a mental health disorder following the attack, she will initially be detained in a safe hospital.
Afrifa from Wembley denied it, but was convicted of two counts of deliberately causing serious bodily harm.
She is likely to be deported back to Ghana after she is released from prison.
