Until July 2024, not many people had heard of the name Olufunmilayo Oluwawemimo. She was a sickle cell warrior and a mother who passed away on May 18 2024. Her husband, Damilola Oluwawemimo, is a person of interest in the case.
The news first became public on July 2, 2024, following a post from the X account (@abiolaak). She mentioned that the Minister for Women Affairs, Barr. Uju Kenedy-Ohaneye was involved in the case, and there would be an autopsy.
@BigBadReni Today, the police had no option than to take the body of #justice4olufunmilayo for autopsy after leaving the matter unattended since May 18, thanks to the Minister for Women Affairs Barr. Uju Kenedy-Ohaneye, @ActionAidNG and @womenadvocate team . The police reported… pic.twitter.com/IpEoi7Iruc
— Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi (@abiolaak) July 2, 2024
Olufunmilayo’s family has since accused Damilola of allegedly murdering his wife, referencing past incidents of domestic abuse.
In a series of X posts on July 9, 2024, Tobi Beckley, Olufunmilayo’s brother, attempted to piece together details of the incident. He accused Damilola of shirking most of his responsibilities and showing a repeated pattern of nonchalance towards his wife’s health.
Tobi stated that he took responsibility for his sister’s health, which Damilola allegedly didn’t like. He also didn’t like being called out for showing little care about his wife’s health.
The most troubling detail was that Damilola was reportedly physically abusive. Funmi’s brother recalls an event where Damilola allegedly beat Funmi up with a phone cable.
My late elder sister was a sickle cell warrior and a victim of an abusive marriage where her husband on several occasions physically abused and assaulted her knowing fully well about her condition. You want full story, I’d give you all story.
— Dr Beckley of ‘BUJ (@ThecruiseDoc) July 9, 2024
This is a thread.
What happened on the evening Funmi died?
Tobi says one of Funmi’s friends called her older sister, asking her to check on Funmi on the evening she died. Her sister immediately notified the family, but they couldn’t reach Funmi. When all attempts to reach Funmi failed, they tried Dami, but he didn’t pick up his calls either.
To confirm everything was all right, Funmi’s sister went to their home the following day to check on her. When she got to Funmi’s home, she met dozens of people in their compound. They told her Damilola had locked himself and his wife inside since the previous evening, and he’d threatened to kill himself and anyone who attempted to gain access to their apartment.
Subsequently, the police gained entry into the apartment and subdued Dami. Funmi was in the apartment, too, but she wasn’t breathing. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead.
What has happened after?
On July 8, 2024, an X account (@HonMichaelson) provided an update about the incident. He questioned the Beckley family’s motive for detaining Damilola and appearing in interviews to accuse him of murdering his wife when the autopsy result wasn’t out. Also, he said that Damilola was subjected to physical abuse during the two weeks he spent in custody.
Update on Damilola:
— Michaelson Hon (@HonMichaelson) July 8, 2024
Recall there was a smear campaign ignited by some women rights activists about a week ago, accusing Damilola of murdering his wife and fleeing?
Today, autopsy result confirmed the immediate cause of her death to be “Haemorrhagic stroke” due to sickle cell. pic.twitter.com/nhB4bjdWK9
According to him, the autopsy results have now been released, confirming the cause of Funmi’s death to be a “Haemorrhagic stroke due to sickle cell.” He claimed that there was no foul play.
However, Funmi’s brother has contested this. According to him, a traumatic head injury is associated with bleeding in the brain and death, especially when the victim doesn’t have access to immediate medical care.
Autopsy findings revealed bleeding into the brain.
— Dr Beckley of ‘BUJ (@ThecruiseDoc) July 9, 2024
Do you know that traumatic injury to the head could result to bleeding into the brain and eventual death if no prompt medical care if administered which Dami obviously refused to take his wife to the hospital? https://t.co/plWjEtpz1b
Details of the autopsy results are not public, and there’s been no comment from the police yet.
*This is a developing story.
