Nigerian Boy Kills Mother In America

A 20-year-old Forest Hill man was arrested by Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies early Thursday morning, hours after police said he stabbed his mother to death in their home.

Isaac Anya Ojiabo Jr., 20, was taken into custody without incident at approximately 4:30 a.m., when detectives canvassing the Forest Hill area located him in his family’s white Lexus SUV at the intersection of Crouse and Putnam Road, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Edward Hopkins said.

Ojiabo was being held at the Harford County Detention Center Thursday morning, awaiting an initial appearance before a District Court Commissioner on charges of first and second degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

According to police, the body of Joy Ojiabo, 51, was found on the second floor of the family’s home shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday by her husband, Anya Ojiabo, who was returning home from work. At that time, the younger Ojiabo was not present at the home, located in the 1600 block of Rushing Stream Court as part of the small, upscale development of Morning Brook Farm off Morse Road just outside Jarrettsville.

The elder Ojiabo called 911, but Hopkins said investigators later determined that his wife was already deceased at the time she was found; it was not immediately clear when the crime had occurred.

A man who identified himself as Anya Ojiabo answered the door of the family’s home Thursday morning, but declined comment.

Hopkins said deputies were called to the home three times in the past year for domestic disturbances involving Joy Ojiabo and her son, including visits in March, September, and December.

“Just because we’re there a half-dozen times doesn’t mean we’re going to arrest anyone, nor it is indicative that this young man was going to do this,” Hopkins said. “Family situations are tough, they can be tough to gauge.”

The family’s troubles were known around their small cul-de-sac, according to the Ojiabo’s next-door neighbor.

“I think there had been arguments between the parents and the children,” said the neighbor, Lisa, who declined to give her last name. “Someone in the neighborhood told me there had been arguments.”

The neighbor said her family did not often interact with the Ojiabos, who she said were Nigerian and had lived in the neighborhood for approximately six years. She said she believed that Isaac Ojiabo attended Fallston High School and had worked at a local Subway restaurant, and that his mother was an attorney.

“It’s devastating, totally devastating,” she said.

According to state tax records, Isaac Ojiabo Sr. and Joy Ojiabo acquired their 6,100-square-foot home from builder Toll Brothers in November 2007, paying $1,032,847 for the house and one-acre lot.