OLATHE, Kan. — A 22-year-old man charged with the first-degree murder of Chidozie “Joe” Ojiaka, whose body was found in severe decomposition at his Overland Park home, made his first appearance in Johnson County Court on Thursday.
Edward William Scott Jr., a Kansas City, Kan., resident, is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.
Ojiaka’s body was found in his home near 75th and Lowell Ave., on Sunday, June 8. Investigators said he had likely been dead for weeks, if not months, and were tipped off to the crime scene after neighbors called police saying they saw hundreds of flies on the inside of a window.
Scott was arrested Wednesday night at the apartment he shares with his father and stepmother. Scott’s parents told FOX 4 that Scott has a history of mental illness, suffering from schizophrenia. They said they do not know the connection their son may have to Joe Ojiaka.
Neither does Sam Ojiaka, Ojiaka’s older brother, who says Joe moved to Kansas from Nigeria many years ago to start a car business.
“Joe was a very nice person. Very humble. Very kind to people,” he said.
Sam said it wasn’t uncommon to go a month without hearing from Joe, but he said this time he hadn’t heard from Joe since November or December of 2013.
“No matter even if you saw him yesterday, we still have that feeling, that ‘Hey. I didn’t give my brother or sister a hug before the last minute.’ So it’s difficult for everybody,” Sam Ojiaka said.
Investigators had previously struggled to put a timeline of events together because the body was so severely decomposed. They were able to determine that Joe had been stabbed multiple times.
