It was a gruesome crime scene at Academy Street in Calabar, Cross River state where the bloodied corpse of Rosaline Christopher was found dumped in a gutter.

As to the question of who murdered the 23-year-old, accounts from eyewitnesses point the finger at Lawrence Ette, the deceased’s boyfriend.

According to reports by Punch Metro, the crime of passion happened at the home of the deceased, located at 13 Academy Street. Miss Dorothy Bassey, landlady of the residence, told the Punch that Rosaline lived there with her mother and sister Nne.

Rosaline’s mother had been wary of the sometimes volatile relationship between her daughter and Ette and had warned the young man away from her daughter, but Ette refused to listen and would often sneak in to visit Rosaline at night, Bassey said.

It was during one such visit that a brawl between the two went from lovers’ quarrel to full blown murder.

According to reports, the pair had an argument on Saturday night, leading into Sunday. Rosaline, upset at Ette, asked him to leave. He did so, but took her mobile phone with him.

Rosaline only discovered her phone was missing when her sister Nne had asked to make use of it. Nne decided to go find Ette to retrieve her sister’s phone. It was while Nne was out that Ette returned and this time, the altercation between the two took a bloody turn.

“She did not scream while they were struggling because she wanted to send him away quietly without attracting her mother’s attention but that was her mistake as Ette stepped out of the room, got a stone and hit her with it,” the landlady said.

It is unclear if the landlady was a witness to the murderous act. She goes on to tell reporters that Ette, when he realized he had a murder on his hands, decided to dispose of the body.

He slung Rosaline’s lifeless corpse over his shoulder and went out through the backyard. Hearing noise of some activity in the backyard, Rosaline’s mother asked her younger daughter, Nne to go see what the noise was about.

“But when Nne got to the backyard, she saw Ette carrying her sister on his shoulder. Immediately he sensed that he had been sighted, he abandoned the corpse and fled.

“Since it was dark, a neighbour brought out a torch and during a search, Rosaline’s corpse was found inside the gutter,” Bassey said.

Rosaline’s body now lies at the General Hospital mortuary in Calabar. Police are now on the hunt for Ette, who has skipped town. One of his neighbors said he was seen “hurriedly” leaving his residence with some belongings.

State police spokesman, John Umoh, said: “It will not be long before we get him, the advisable thing for him to do is to come out of hiding now.”