Maryland police are investigating the death of a 47-year old woman whose body was found last Thursday. She died at the Potomac, Maryland, home of the former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu.

The sudden death of Chinwe Masi is being handled by the Montgomery County Chief Examiner's office. James Hiker, a field medical examiner officer involved in the investigation, told SaharaReporters the case has been turned over to the coroner's office in Maryland.

The coroner's office confirmed that an autopsy has been completed, but that cause of death cannot be disclosed until further toxicology test results are completed and returned from analysis. Dr. Donna Vincenti, a medical examiner for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, performed the autopsy on Chinwe. She told relatives that Chinwe died of cardio-vascular causes consistent with a long history of high blood pressure.

Chinwe is a widow, whose husband Ogbonna died in 2006. Some of her friends who spoke to SaharaReporters anonymously said they were shocked that she was involved with Orji Kalu, who reportedly met her at the upscale Saks Fifth Avenue store a few months ago. Chinwe is a resident of Hyattsville, Maryland and is not known to have any children.

Chinwe died at Kalu's 14900 Rivers Road, Potomac, Maryland home last Thursday, August 19, according to Montgomery Police officers who also told SaharaReporters that investigations are continuing with the objective of figuring out if there was any foul play.

Chinwe reportedly died shortly after complaining of chest pains. A call was made to emergency services to help her but she was confirmed dead on the scene before she could be transported to the hospital.

Montgomery County Police department said that from initial reports available, Chinwe's death does not appear to be suspicious, but a police detective, Dina Mackie of the homicide section is currently investigating the case. Montgomery County laws require that all deaths are investigated as possible homicide until proven otherwise.

SaharaReporters could not reach Mr. Kalu through his Nigerian or US phone number. Our source said he was with Chinwe at the mansion the day she died. Sources said that he has relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in the US and is maintaining a low profile while waiting for police to conclude their investigations. Family members of Chinwe are concerned the police will not find the real reason Chinwe died as the former governor, who is allegedly vested in occult practices, may have used Chinwe for unknown rituals.

The home where Chinwe died is the controversial mansion that Orji Kalu purchased in 2004 for $1.7 million from funds pilfered from Abia state treasury. He is currently facing trial in Nigeria for corruption, graft and abuse of office and the mansion is named in the charge sheet containing details of how the former governor looted Abia State.
source

He has a nice house in Potomac, Maryland. And another nice house in Houston. Probably built them from looted funds.

some people are attributing the death of the lady to some "diabolic ritualistic'' practices,

but it could just be a natural death

people are in a hurry to apportion blame.better to wait for the coroner's report

^^
Okija Shrine, USA Branch

i thought they said he is gay?

I know his daughter and she looks decent. If only I could marry in that family!

mbulela:

i thought they said he is gay?

Most of these guys are bisexual. He's a member of the IBB fu.ckboy brigade anyway so am pretty sure he swings both ways  

EzeUche22:

I know his daughter and she looks decent. If only I could marry in that family!

Be prepared to have your father-in-law's salami shoved through your back-door then

ziddy:

Be prepared to have your father-in-law's salami shoved through your back-door then

which one be back door?

ziddy:

Be prepared to have your father-in-law's salami shoved through your back-door then

He can try, but will fail. But his daughter is good looking.

hmmmmmmm

Latest:

Orji Kalu, the former Governor of Abia State in whose United States home a Nigerian widow died last Thursday, is anxious to put distance between him and the tragedy. He will heave a sign of relief and head for the airport as soon as Montgomery County police officers certify that his mistress, Chinwe Masi, died of natural causes.

Chinwe, whom he met at a Saks Fifth Avenue while buying wristwatches, died in his Potomac, Maryland, mansion. Montgomery county police detectives said a toxicology test did not reveal any foul play in the death of the widow, who reportedly had a long history of hypertension. She reportedly died after drinking some Guinness Stout at the mansion on that fateful day.

Police say they have obtained a statement from Mr. Kalu and also conducted necessary searches of his mansion to determine if he possessed anything that could have contributed to Chinwe's death.

Soon after depositing Chinwe's body at Baltimore morgue, Kalu traveled discreetly to Charlottesville, North Carolina, to meet with his long-abandoned wife' His mother, Eunice, who is known to have been involved in Kalu's corrupt activities as governor, is also reported to be receiving treatment (in the North Carolina area) for age-related ailments.

Kalu is expected to leave the US tomorrow, Thursday, heading for London if the Montgomery County police give him the magic word by that time.

EzeUche22:

I know his daughter and she looks decent. If only I could marry in that family!

Dont bring bad omen upon yourself. That family=disaster

^^
Kalu enjoys the (dubious) distinction of being one man who is universally mistrusted by the Igbo middle-class. Yet he remains the most viable option they have on offer for Nigeria in the upcoming elections, either as a Presidential candidate in his own right or, more likely, as running mate to IBB.

Speaks volumes to the functional role of Ndigbo in the Nigerian Experiment, don't you think?

ziddy:

^^
Kalu enjoys the (dubious) distinction of being one man who is universally mistrusted by the Igbo middle-class. Yet[b] he remains the most viable option they have on offer for Nigeria in the upcoming elections[/b], either as a Presidential candidate in his own right or, more likely, as running mate to IBB.

Speaks volumes to the functional role of Ndigbo in the Nigerian Experiment, don't you think?

If this stark illiterate with no discernible ideology is the best hope of any household let alone a tribe, then i give up.

mbulela:

If this stark illiterate with no discernible ideology is the best hope of any household let alone a tribe, then i give up.

DONT MIND HIM
HIS LIVING BEYOND HIS MEANS IS AFFECTING HIS REASONING

Sorry for the woman. Hope there is no foul play.
I pass by Kalu's house all the time and there are children living in that house with all those swing set and children playhouse. I often wonder whether he own all those horses that totaled more than 20 next to the property

PUFF PUFF DON BEGIN TURN TO BUNS!!!

Orji Kalu: Twist in Lady’s Death Saga
From Tokunbo Adedoja in New York, 08.26.2010
Is it true that there were five persons present when 47-year old Ms. Chinwe Masi died at the Potomac, US residence of former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, Thursday last week? This has become a subject of controversy as a blood relation of the lady told THISDAY yesterday that only Kalu and Masi were in the house at the time of the incident.
However, when THISDAY sought further clarification from the source that was quoted in yesterday's report, he maintained that there were no fewer than five persons at the residence on that fateful night.


Masi’s relation, who does not want to be identified, insisted only Kalu and Masi were at the house. The relation also said the aspect of the story that Masi went to deliver some bottles of perfume to the former governor was not correct, and wondered why Kalu was yet to get in touch with Masi’s family after the tragedy.


A source who claimed to be among the persons at the former governor's Potomac residence at the time of the tragic incident, had told THISDAY: "He (Kalu) told them (the police) that he met her at Montgomery County Mall in June when he went to shop and forgot two bottles of perfume at the store. He told the police that when he returned to US upper weekend, Chinwe, who was a senior staff of the high flying fashion store, called him last Tuesday that he would be bringing the perfume and that was why she came to his residence.”


But Masi’s relation told THISDAY yesterday: “The perfume story is not true. When Chinwe met the former governor at the shopping mall, they exchanged numbers. Chinwe was planning to come to Nigeria, so OJ (Chinwe’s pet name for Orji Kalu) said they could meet up. But they never met up in Nigeria. So when Chinwe got back to the US, OJ called her and fixed an appointment for last Thursday. OJ had already given her some money.


“OJ said Chinwe should come in the evening because he was fasting. She asked him why he was fasting, if he was a Muslim and OJ said he was a Catholic but he liked to fast along with Muslims during Ramadan. So they fixed an appointment for Thursday evening. Chinwe even missed the way to OJ’s house, because that was her first time there. She told me everything that was transpiring between them. Chinwe and I were very close. She never hid anything from me. In fact, she told me the clothes she was going to wear for the date.”


This is the full text of the email from Masi’s relative: “Chinwe met OJ sometime early June at the store where she worked as a fragrance model. He came in to make some purchase at her stand and left a generous tip of 300 dollars to her. He did not forget any cologne at the store.


“At this point they probably exchanged numbers but she wasn't aware of who he was. They spoke on phone several times but never met until after a few days later when he sent her a cheque through his aide/driver who came and dropped it off at her apartment. She came to Nigeria on the 30th of June and did not see OJ but they did speak. The reason they didn't see was because he had wanted her to spend just a week with her relatives and then join him in Lagos to go to Abuja and then his hometown but she also complained to her friends and family that she found him a bit too controlling! (She used this word specifically). She didn't see him all through her stay!


“She left Nigeria last week Tuesday (same day OJ claimed that she called to return his perfume). She spoke with him though after she arrived at the US and they agreed to see on Thursday at his residence in Potomac.  On that fateful day, she spoke several times with a close relative on the West Coast and set out to meet with him for dinner at his residence. She arrived there at about 9pm (Maryland time) and checked in with her relative on the West coast. The conversation lasted a few minutes and her relative also spoke with OJ. She described her conversation with him as being somewhat cold and even a bit brusque. He handed the phone back to Chinwe and while the deceased continued to exchange pleasantries, OJ said to her to wrap up the call and speak later with her relative.


“At about 3.30am Maryland time, the police called the deceased's relative on the West coast to pronounce her (Chinwe) dead and make inquiries as to the last time they had spoken. They told the relative that OJ had called 911 after he claimed that he was lying down watching TV while Chinwe was in a separate bedroom. He said he heard her call for help and he got up to see her trying to come down the staircase. Halfway down, she fell down the rest of the flight of stairs and he called 911. There was no one else at the residence to corroborate this story and this is the statement he gave the police. So far the autopsy is still pending but the deceased's home was searched for any traces of medication she might have been taking for any  ailments or sicknesses. Nothing of significance was found. The detective in charge Deena Mackie was at the scene and also took statements from OJ and led the search in her apartment.


“Chinwe was a robust lady who was full of life and joy. Always laughing and had a big heart. She would be missed dearly.”
However, the source who narrated Kalu’s side of the story to THISDAY as reported yesterday, maintained that there were at least five persons that witnessed the tragedy.
"What I told you is the truth. What your paper reported is the truth. Why don't we wait for police report on the issue?" he said.
Kalu himself cannot speak for legal reasons, as the police are said to have placed a gag order on him in order not to jeopardise investigation.


When THISDAY sought further clarification from the Homicide Section of the Montgomery Police Department, an officer, Paul Starks, said: "As far as our investigation is concerned, we are not going to confirm how many people were in the house. We are awaiting results from the medical examiner's office about the cause of death".
Blanca Kling, an officer at the Homicide Section, had earlier told THISDAY: “It is an undetermined death and we are waiting for the results from the autopsy from the chief medical officer. The result usually takes several weeks [to come out], but there were no signs of foul play.”


THISDAY had quoted a source yesterday as saying “Chinwe arrived at the residence at about 8:30pm and all this happened just within 30 minutes.”
The source added: "We asked her to join us as we were drinking red wine. She said no, she would not drink red wine, that she was going for soda or Guinness. Luckily we had Guinness in the fridge. She took the small Guinness and we were drinking red wine. After about fifteen minutes, I heard her shouting, My chest, my chest.


"The next thing, she started vomiting blood. We rushed to her and asked if she was asthmatic, but she said no, she had high blood pressure. Immediately, the [former] governor (Kalu) rushed to the phone and called the ambulance and the police. And they came immediately. The ambulance arrived first and the paramedics were trying to take her into the ambulance when she gave up the ghost.


"At that point, the ambulance people said they would not be able to take her away until the police arrive. When the police came, they told us to come outside and wait. They were in the house for eight hours searching everywhere. And the police came in with all their equipment. They took the former governor's blood, his fingerprint and his statement.
"They gave him paper to sign and said they needed to search his house. First, they asked him whether the lady used cocaine, but the [former] governor told them that she didn't use cocaine and he does not use cocaine. We were also told to write our statement, which we did."

I guess we'll just have to wait and see with these conflicting stories as to how many people were there at the time of the incident. All I know is that as I pass by the house this morning, there was no sign of anybody in the residence, but the swing set, teeter totter and children playground were visible from the outside

But Masi’s relation told THISDAY yesterday: “The perfume story is not true. When Chinwe met the former governor at the shopping mall, they exchanged numbers. Chinwe was planning to come to Nigeria, so OJ (Chinwe’s pet name for Orji Kalu) said they could meet up. But they never met up in Nigeria. So when Chinwe got back to the US, OJ called her and fixed an appointment for last Thursday. OJ had already given her some money.

@mbulela,
can u reach this family member and find out if that lady has been a prostitute before the incident? wat was the money he gave her for? maybe the service she came to render before the incident?
as long as it america, they will tell us the truth.

“Chinwe met OJ sometime early June at the store where she worked as a fragrance model. He came in to make some purchase at her stand and left a generous tip of 300 dollars to her

hmm.

could have used a tip like that at my burger flipping job.