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Man accused of killing and dismembering ex-girlfriend in Randolph

E-mail|Link July 8, 2010 05:21 PM

By June Q. Wu, Globe Correspondent and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

QUINCY – The man accused of murdering his former girlfriend told police she slashed him on the finger – so he stabbed her repeatedly and then drove around the South Shore as she bled to death while sitting next to him in a car, according prosecutors and a police report.

The woman was identified as 28-year-old Karneetha Sanders, a Randolph resident who was nine weeks pregnant, according to authorities and relatives. Sanders and her long-time boyfriend, Raymond Ruffin of Randolph – who had feared Sanders was being stalked – had decided to marry and were looking forward to starting their family, relatives said.

Sanders's alleged killer, Edward Aduayi, 56 and of Abington, today pleaded not guilty to a charge of first degree murder in Quincy District Court where he was ordered held without bail.

After killing Sanders sometime on Wednesday, Aduayi drove to the store he operates with his wife on North Main street in Randolph where he dismembered the woman's body, according to Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Gregory Connor and a police report filed in court.

Police found both Aduayi and Sanders's body around 3:30 a.m. today after they tracked Sanders's cellphone to the business Aduayi owned with his wife, officials said. Aduayi had stuffed Sanders's remains into a barrel, police said.

Several of Sanders's relatives attended the arraignment, but they declined comment afterward. Sanders's boyfriend earlier today declined comment as he and other relatives kept vigil outside the North Main street property.

Sanders's stepmother, Ruby Steele-Morris, said earlier today that the killing has devastated the murdered woman's family.

"She was just a beautiful flower who is no longer there for us,'' Steele-Morris said of Sanders.

Steele-Morris said that Sanders was nine weeks pregnant. Steele-Morris said that neither she nor other family members had ever heard Sanders mention Aduyai.

In court, Connor summarized the statement that Aduyai allegedly gave to police after the caught him with Sanders' remains nearby.

Aduyai said he picked up Sanders in a car around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. He told police they began to argue and that Sanders suddenly armed herself with a knife.

Aduyai told police Sanders threatened to commit suicide by stabbing herself in the abdomen. She then abruptly decided to attack him instead, and slashed him on the finger, according to Connor and the police report.

Aduayi allegedly told police he overpowered Sanders and then stabbed her repeatedly. He said after the violence, he continued to drive around the South Shore, having decided against taking Sanders to the hospital so she could get medical attention.

He allegedly told police that he checked on Sanders after some time had passed and was surprised to discover she was not breathing.

At that point, he told police, he went to his North Main street business where he went into the basement and began putting Sanders's body into a barrel.

In court, Aduayi's defense attorney, John G. Darrell, did not challenge the prosecution request that Aduayi be held without bail.

Darrell told reporters that Aduayi was married and a father but he did not know how many children he had or their ages.

Aduayi is due back in court Aug. 6.