Three admit guilt in 2008 Holbrook murder

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The three men accused of murdering a Nigerian immigrant in his Holbrook apartment in 2008 are now facing long prison sentences after pleading guilty to second degree murder charges in Norfolk Superior Court.

In a statement, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said the guilty pleas mean the three men will not “escape justice for murdering Osahon Ighodaro.’’ Ighodaro was 25 years old and a straight-A student at Quincy College who used money earned as a parking valet near Fenway Park to purchase some flat-screen televisions, a laptop, and a surround-sound stereo system.

Jeffrey P. Anthony, 24, of Chelsea, Joshua E. Berrios, 24, of Taunton, and Kencheser Martin, 29, also of Chelsea, pleaded guilty to second degree murder in Norfolk Superior Court this month.

All three men are scheduled to be sentenced this Friday and are facing mandatory sentences of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving a total of 15 years behind bars. Prosecutors have said the three men forced their way into Ighodaro’s apartment, tied his feet and hands behind his back, stuffed a gag in his mouth, and beat him while he was face down on the floor. He died of probable asphyxiation, prosecutors have said.

A woman he met at a Randolph bar, Nekita Martin, allegedly convinced the three men to force their way into Ighodaro’s apartment where they beat him, hog-tied him and left him to die in his apartment before stealing some electronic gear.

Following her arrest, Martin, 25, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and is now scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in the Dedham courthouse, prosecutors said.

In a statement, Morrissey said the plea agrement was approved by Ighodaro’s relatives.

“This was planned to be a robbery. Nekita Martin knew Mr. Ighodaro and knew that, through hard work, he had been able to accumulate a number of nice things,” Morrissey said. “They burst into his apartment and in the process of the robbery assaulted and bound him, and left him. He did not survive.”

A woman visiting Ighodaro in his Holbrook apartment on July 10, 2008, was also attacked and tied up with a belt, but survived and was able to summon help the next day. Some of the suspects were linked to the crime through forensics, including fingerprint evidence, but no strong connection was drawn between Martin, whom authorities believe was the primary attacker.

“We thank the family for their input, patience and cooperation, and we share in the relief they expressed that justice has been served,” Morrissey said.