On Thursday, news broke that budding pop star Alizee (Ali Zainab Nielsen) and her four-year-old daughter were killed in her Banana Island home by her husband, Danish national Peter Nielsen. The couple had been married for five years and although Alizee was not an A-lister entertainer yet, her recent record deal with a Malaysian based label had provided her with a substantial advance that included a Ford Explorer SUV.
Following the harrowing incident, several news outlets reported that the mother and child were shot dead by Nielsen. However, a close associate (who begged for anonymity until the family releases an official statement) of the deceased singer confirmed to us that contrary to what is being reported, Alizee and her daughter were strangled to death.
‘My brother, it is a disturbing case,’ we were told. ‘But we’re preparing an official statement that will detail out it happened. After their bodies were discovered, some friends of hers sent the gist to some bloggers but wrongly stated that they were shot with a gun. The man strangled them.’
When pressed for more details, he further revealed that the murder was the final step after years of domestic abuse meted out to Alizee by her much older husband. ‘It wasn’t the first time he would beat her. They used to fight all the time and it wasn’t new. But on this occasion, the fight started around 3 am, according to what I was told by the househelp who called me in the morning.’
It was gathered that the late singer lived with her househelp and nieces who were locked out of the main living room during the fatal fight. ‘They were hearing noises for a long time and then like an hour later, everything was quiet so they thought the couple had settled down. Around 7 to 8 am though, Neilsen came out of the room and told the girls that their ‘aunty was sleeping’. He then went out. On examining the sleeping position of both Alizee and her daughter, they knew something was wrong. That’s when her sister and I were called to come over.’
In recent years, there have been several cases of domestic violence affecting celebrity Nigerian women. Tonto Dikeh and Mercy Aigbe have accused their husbands of abusing them at different times. In 2012, nightclub owner Suzy Q (Susan Yusuf) was murdered at the famous 1004 Estate in Lagos by her boyfriend who jumped to his own death after killing her.
The police have been said to have started investigations into the killings. Calls made to the telephone of the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer SP Chike Oti were unanswered at the time of filing this report. He has been quoted in other media outlets as saying ‘It is pre-emptive now to ascertain the cause of the incident.’