Appeal Court affirms d£ath penalty on Denmark National convicted for k!lling his Nigerian wife and their daughter in Lagos

The Appeal Court Lagos Division has dismissed the appeal filed by a Denmark national, Peter Nielsen, who was sentenced to d£ath for k!lling his Nigerian wife, Zainab and daughter, Petra Nielsen.

Nielsen was on May 20, 2022, found guilty, convicted and sentenced to d£ath by hanging for the murd€r of Zainab and Petra, by Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile,(retd.), of the Lagos State High Court, at the Tafawa Balewa Square. The Lagos State Government had accused Nielsen, now 57, of smothering Zainab and their daughter Petra Nielsen, to death at about 3:45 am, on April 5, 2018, at their No. 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island, Ikoyi residence. Two counts of murder was filed against him.

Dissatisfied with his conviction and sentencing, Nielsen approached the appellate court for the judgment to be upturned.

However in a ruling delivered on Friday, July 19, the Appeal court upheld his conviction by the trial court and dismissed his appeal for lack of merit. The appeal court held that the respondent (Lagos State) proved the offence of murder against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.

“The corroborative evidence of DNA also strengthened the circumstantial evidence against the appellant. There was no proof of breaking into the apartment as suggested by the appellant. The missing exhibits as a result of the #EndSARS attack on the court do not affect the defence of the appellant as he had ample opportunity before the attack on the court. The findings of the forensic examiner corroborate the evidence of the children.”

Nielsen was found guilty and convicted of the murder of Zainab and Petra, by Justice Bolanle Okikiolu-Ighile,(retd.), of the Lagos State High Court, at the Tafawa Balewa Square on May 20, 2022. The trial court held that Nielsen smothered Zainab and Petra Nielsen to death. She added that all  

“This is one of the cases of domestic violence. The DNA analysis of nail scraping brought out the assailant of Zainab. Zainab tried so much to defend herself. The evidence shows that Peter Nielsen killed his wife and daughter. There is evidence before the court that there is a fight between Peter Nielsen and his wife,” Justice Okikiolu-Ighile held

She held that Prosecution Witnesses (PW5 and PW6) testified that they heard Zainab calling Mimi (one of the girls living with the couple) for help and they heard Zainab telling Nielsen to check her phone but he kept hitting her head.

“The act of Nielsen shows that he suffocated his wife and daughter. Nielsen has always domestically abused his wife which was shown in the police extract from the Ikoyi Police Station. She didn’t know that her marriage to the convict was void abi nitio because Peter was already married in Denmark.”the judge ruled