It is the longest unsolved murder of a child in the recent history of the London Metropolitan Police.
Ago 20 years, an African child was killed in a brutal ritual : his head and limbs were removed and his torso thrown into the Thames.
East Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police made a renewed call for members of the public to “be brave” and present any information that may help them solve this case.
The identity of the child remains a mystery . He is known simply as “Adam,” the name British detectives gave him.
Over the years, there have been arrests and forensic breakthroughs. But no one has been charged with his murder.
We have followed the case from the beginning, even traveling to the place where the child is believed to have been born, in an effort to find out what really happened .
Twenty years later, we spoke with the people closest to the case. Some speak here for the first time.
And we visit Adam’s nameless grave in a sprawling cemetery in South London.
21 September 2001: the discovery
The body was found by a passerby.
Aidan Minter was crossing Tower Bridge in central London to attend a business meeting.
Was only 10 days after the attacks of 11 September in America and the city was still strangely quiet.
“The tide was quite high at the time, I thought it was a tailor’s mannequin, ”Aidan recalls.
He rarely talks about the case. “Then I went under the bridge, and that’s when I saw the detail: the wounds and the body itself.”
The police pulled the body out of the water, upriver, near from the Globe Theater. It’s a memory Aidan lives with to this day .
“I still think about him. I will not forget it for the rest of my life. ”
The first week
The boy, who was black, could have been in the water even for 10 days.
He had died with his throat slit . His arms, legs and head had been expertly amputated . They have never been found.
There were no signs of physical or sexual abuse and he was well fed. On the body there was nothing but a pair of orange shorts , something that would give the officers their first clue in the case.
The label was from the brand “Kids & Company” and the size and color could only be found in a small number of stores in Germany.
Nick Chalmers, then detective sergeant, was one of the police officers assigned to the case, the strangest and most complex of his career.
“Definitely you develop a link to a case , and there is this urge to find answers. The only thing that has persisted for 20 years is the frustration that we can’t find all the answers ”, he explains.
Has an encyclopedic knowledge of the case and keeps copies of many of his investigation files at his home.
Almost a week after the body was found, detectives asked the public for help through the program “ Crimewatch UK “, from the BBC.
Near 60 people called, but there was no progress.
African Connections
The detectives made the unprecedented decision to give the boy a name , and it was offered gave a reward of £ 50. 000 in exchange of information.
Forensic testing showed Adam had between 4 and 7 years and that had lived in Africa until shortly before his death.
Traces of cough syrup were also found in his stomach.
If he was sick, had those who killed him cared enough to give him medicine? Or was it used to put him to sleep before the murder?
The experts agreed that, because Adam’s body had been expertly killed, it had been a ritual murder.
Some thought it was one of the rare murders known as “muti”, which occur in southern Africa, when parts of the A victim’s body is extracted and used by witches as “medicine” for a client who wants, for example, to win a business deal or to guarantee good luck.
Other experts believed that it was more likely that it was a human sacrifice related to a Twisted version of Nigerian Yoruban belief systems.
A perverted offering to the goddess Oshun, a deity typically associated with water and fertility. Subsequent forensic evidence gave that theory more credence.
April 2002: Mandela’s plea
In April 2002, the police team traveled to South Africa to meet with former President Nelson Mandela.
This appealed across the continent for Adam’s family to come forward.
“Scotland Yard informs me that the first indications of their investigations are that the child comes from somewhere in Africa, so if somewhere, even in the most remote town of our continent, there is a family to whom There is a missing child of that age who might have disappeared around that time, please contact the police. ”
July 2002: a preview
In July 2002, social workers in Glasgow began to worry about the safety of two girls. They lived with their mother, an African woman of about 30 years.
City council workers they found strange ritual objects in his house . At a court hearing, the woman, Joyce Osagiede, told a story about cults, murder and sacrifice.
An observant police officer thought it was strange enough to warrant a call to the London homicide unit.
Detective Nick Chalmers searched Joyce’s home and found clothing with the same “Kids & Company ” and the same size as Adam’s orange shorts. Joyce was arrested.
The agents were convinced that she was an important part of the story , but the woman was confused and kept changing her version of the facts.
Said he didn’t know anything about Adam, but couldn’t explain the extraordinary coincidence about the clothes.
The officers were unable to charge Joyce . He remained in Glasgow awaiting the results of his asylum application.
September 2002: Nigerian connections
In September from 2002, a year after Adam was found, a memorial service was held at London City Hall to celebrate his life.
Attended close to 30 police officers, scientists, pathologists and various experts involved in the case.
“Probably the closest thing I had a family were the people who knew him thanks to the research ”, says Nick Chalmers.
Forensic work continued, and by December it was clear that Adam’s DNA pointed to a West African ancestry.
Innovative testing on bone samples located the birthplace of Adam on a strip of land around Benin City in southern Nigeria, Joyce Osagiede’s hometown.
Pollen samples in his gut showed that he had been living in south-east England for only a few days or weeks before his death.
Also in his stomach was an unusual substance made from African river clay, which included vegetation, ground bone, and traces of gold and quartz.
The presence of Ash showed that the mixture had burned before the child was forced to eat it.
Maybe that explains the cough medicine, something sweet to help ingest the nasty concoction ?
November 2002: the German connection
Joyce Osagiede, the woman who had been arrested in Glasgow but Not charged, she was deported after the Home Office rejected her asylum claim.
Nick Chalmers and his boss, Detective Inspector Will O’Reilly, traveled with her to Nigeria in a private jet chartered especially for the occasion: the hope was that during the flight it would open up and reveal crucial information about the murder.
But it didn’t. Detectives did not get off the plane when they landed in Lagos and flew directly home. Joyce then disappeared.
Soon after, the German police revealed that Joyce had lived in Hamburg until the end s of 2003 , the city where the orange shorts found on the body were purchased Adam.
More arrests
In London, late 2002, what seemed like a breakthrough occurred. When the police had arrested Osagiede they discovered that he only had two contacts on his phone: one was a man named Mousa Kamara.
He was traced to a house in London. There, officers found an animal skull pierced with a nail, liquid potions, and small packages containing what appeared to be sand or dirt.
There was also a video labeled “rituals”, which contained a drama in which an adult was beheaded.
Items found appeared to be associated with Nigerian rituals known as Juju.
Detectives also discovered that Mousa Kamara’s real name was Kingsley Ojo .
With nothing directly linking him to Adam’s murder, He was released on bail.
But there was clear evidence that Ojo was involved in human trafficking, so he was placed under surveillance.
Within hours of his release, he spoke again with his criminal associates who were organizing the illegal entry of Nigerians into the UK.
He was considered an important actor in a gang that trafficked people to the country.
In July 2003, after tracking his every move and identifying his criminal partners, 21 Men and women were arrested in coordinated raids at nine London addresses, including Ojo.
October 2003: the plant of d doomsday
The samples of plant remains found in Adam’s gut had been sent to the experts at Kew Botanical Garden Gardens.
In October 2003 reached a surprising conclusion : Adam had been fed parts from two different plants.
First, there were small amounts of the Calabar bean, also known as the plant Doomsday (judgment day final) or Calvary, which is traditionally used in witchcraft ceremonies in West Africa. At that dose it causes paralysis, but does not prevent pain.
Second, ground seeds of the Datura plant were discovered, which acts as a sedative and causes hallucinations.
Detectives believed the mixture was given to Adam before his throat was slit. It would have left him paralyzed and defenseless, but still aware of what was happening to him.
July 2004: Kingsley Eye incarcerated
Police had sufficient evidence to indict Kingsley Ojo, not in connection with Adam’s death, but with four counts of human trafficking and use of false documents to obtain a passport and driver’s license.
In July 2004 was declared guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison , with the recommendation that he be deported upon release.
Ojo, who was also known by various aliases, according to investigators headed a “substantial” network believed to have brought hundreds of people to the UK to work in the sex trade, as domestic slaves or for com ether welfare fraud.
The detectives hoped that Ojo still had the key to solving Adam’s death.
We learn that in Brixton Prison he earned a reputation as an “important man.” It is alleged that he performed Juju ceremonies for money for other inmates, as reported by an informant to the police.
December of 2004: the verdict
In December 2004, the investigation into Adam’s death recorded a verdict of unlawful murder.
It was concluded that he died from neck injuries sustained while still alive.
2005: Kingsley Ojo offers to help
From his cell, Ojo contacted the team investigating Adam’s death.
He said he had secret recordings of Joyce Osagiede recorded in Nigeria by his associates.
He stated that he wanted to help locate the killer and clear his own name.
The officers interviewed him at the end of his sentence, while he waited to be deported.
He convinced the authorities that he could help, and by the end of 2005 was released and lived in East London, apparently helping in the investigation.
For more than two years he provided information to the police, at one point claiming that Osagiede was back in the UK, which turned out to be false .
Also accused another woman of directing the sacrificial ceremony in September 2001.
Police stationed an undercover officer in their church for months, but detectives concluded that there was no basis for the claims.
In December 2006, Adam’s body was buried in an unnamed grave in a London cemetery.
The non-denominational service was attended by a handful of police officers who had worked on the case from the beginning, including the sa rgento Nick Chalmers and Will O’Reilly, who would soon be promoted to Chief Inspector of Detectives.
2008: Kingsley Ojo deported to Nigeria
Detectives concluded that could not trust Kingsley Ojo : It was still believed that he was using a false identity to commit welfare fraud even after his release.
In 2008, was deported to Nigeria. Throughout his deportation hearing, Ojo stated that he had always “done everything possible” to assist in the investigation.
Also in Nigeria, Joyce Osagiede reappeared and was questioned by the police. Finally admitted that he had taken care of “Adam” when he lived in Hamburg , in the north of Germany, and that he had bought the orange shorts that were found in his body.
But he said no more and disappeared again.
After years of searching, we finally managed to locate a woman who met Joyce in Germany. I have never spoken to the media before.
Ria Matthes, a social worker who evaluates applications for welfare, he met Joyce and her two daughters several times when they were in Hamburg.
He also remembers seeing Joyce twice with a small child in the summer of 2001 , who now realizes that well It could have been Adam.
That would make her one of the last people to see him alive.
“I think about the case regularly,” he says. “For me, he was a very shy boy, although attentive. He was completely introverted and withdrawn. He stayed in one place and did not move. ”
Joyce treated the child as if he were a“ necessary evil for her ”, says Ria. “[Era] as if she had to drag him with her because maybe she did not want to leave him out of her sight or as if she was carrying him so that he did not have to be alone.”
2012: a photo of Adam
For three years the Investigations continued, but with no significant new leads.
But when the detectives searched the belongings of Joyce Osagiede, which had been left in the hands of a friend in Germany, they found a pile of photographs.
One showed a boy of about 5 years looking directly at the camera; was taken at 2001.
Sergeant Nick Chalmers was skeptical about whether It could be Adam, but he had left the investigation and a new team of detectives had taken over.
Early 2011, the photo was delivered to the ITV News channel, which attempted to locate Joyce in Nigeria.
Joyce confirmed that Adam was indeed the boy in the photo , and his real name was Ikpomwosa.
He said that he had taken care of the boy, but that had given him to a man named Bawa.
For a time it seemed that the mystery about Adam’s identity had been solved. But detectives were unable to identify the boy or advance the investigation.
2012: meeting with Joyce in Nigeria
A year later, we found out why. Out of nowhere, Joyce’s brother Victor contacted us from Nigeria.
He said there had been a misunderstanding: the boy in the picture was not Adam and his name was not Ikpomwosa. He and Joyce wanted to set the record straight.
We traveled to Benin City with Nick Chalmers, who by then had retired from the police.
We found Joyce living in a small house in a run-down neighborhood; She was glad to see us, but seemed confused at times.
She was known to have mental health issues. Joyce told us that the boy in the photo was actually called “Danny”, who we managed to locate in Hamburg.
Joyce also suggested another name for Adam. She called him Patrick Erhabor , something we couldn’t verify.
Finally, we showed Joyce a photograph plus. He immediately identified the man as someone he called “Bawa”, the person he says he gave Adam in Germany in 2001 .
The photo was of dealer Kingsley Ojo . It was the first time I made that accusation.
We achieved loc alizar Ojo in Nigeria; He did not want to meet with us, but agreed to speak on the phone.
He insisted that was not involved in Adam’s murder . In fact, there is no evidence linking him to the murder.
But the former detective believes that Ojo may still have the key to unlock the case.
In response to our inquiry, which came to light in early 2012, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said any new information would be “thoroughly investigated.”
2021: still an unsolved case
From 2013, the investigation has effectively become a “ cold case ”(open unsolved case), and there have been no significant new lines of investigation.
But there has been an important development. We kept in touch with Joyce’s brother, Victor, and last year he revealed to us that Joyce had died .
One of the last remaining links to Adam, and potentially a crucial witness, disappeared.
Aidan Minter, the man who saw the body in the river, was diagnosed with acute post-traumatic stress disorder.
Says he felt completely powerless, knowing that his discovery was someone’s son.
“It is the impact of… why is it there? Who did it? That is the hardest. He was a little boy with a personality and it was cruelly taken from him in a kind of ritual murder. ”
For retired detective Nick Chalmers, the lack of answers is deeply frustrating.
“He was an innocent child. There are people responsible for his death who have not been brought to justice “.
“Twenty years later, I wish we knew the identity of Adam and his parents. In reality, he is a missing child from a family that probably does not know that he is buried here in London. ”
Now you can receive notifications from BBC Mundo. Download the new version of our app and activate them so as not to miss our best content.