By Ayodele Popoola

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Detectives of the Ala Division of the Ondo State Police Command have commenced  investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of a 54-year-old civil servant, Mrs. Florence Adelayi, whose decomposing body was found in her home at the Premier Estate, Okunbadejo Street, Oda town.

The Hope Metro gathered that the woman who was living with her niece, a 12-year-old girl, was stabbed to death and her decomposing body locked up inside her room.

As of the time of the discovery, the mutilated body of the deceased was found lying in her room with a knife beside her which indicates she was stabbed at the back by an unknown assailant.

It was learnt that the woman had been gruesomely murdered for days until her neighbours raised an alarm over a foul smell emanating from her compound.

A source close to the deceased told The Hope Metro that neighbours called  her family members when they perceived a foul smell emanating from her compound and noticed strange black flies coming from her fenced apartment.

She added when they did not see her for days and her gate was locked. They initially thought that she had traveled with her daughter.

The source described her death as shocking and mysterious.

Also, a resident who pleaded anonymity said: “We woke up to see some strange black flies coming out of her compound on Sunday morning. But we could not access the compound because the gate was locked from the outside. There was no sign of anybody at home. So, we put calls across to her family members.

“No one can say what was responsible for her death. The best people can do is to speculate”.

Another source told The Hope Metro that the deceased adopted the 12-year-old girl, Wumi, staying with her, adding that the girl has been mentally unstable since last year September.

According to the source, some residents in the neighborhood were alleging the girl might be responsible for her guardian’s death as she was seen wandering around the vicinity for days.

The source said: “The deceased came home with the girl from the office on Wednesday, greeted us and drove into her compound. That was the last time we saw her.

“The woman had been going through a lot to cope with the mental challenge of the girl, which gave her many sleepless nights.

“She had spent more than N1.5 million on the girl’s illness and  refused to take her back to her parents because she would be lonely since she had no child. So, she had been avoiding most of her relatives and friends advising her to return the girl.

It was learnt that the girl who had been on the run had been apprehended at Pelebe area, along Oda road, and taken to the police station for questioning.

The Hope Metro gathered that policemen from the Ala Divisional Headquarters visited the scene and had evacuated the corpse.

When our correspondent visited the police station, it was learnt that the corpse had been deposited at the morgue of The University of Medical Science (UNIMED), Akure.

 When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya told our correspondent she was on an official assignment.