[The television screen slowly fades in, displaying a tall, middle aged, grey
haired man standing in a dimly lit studio.]
Dennis: “Hello. My
name is Dennis Farina, and welcome to another chilling episode of ‘Women Who
Kill.’”
Dennis: “This week we will explore the gruesome story of the
woman known as the Jealous Wife, who intended to murder her sister-wife’s
child, but instead made a grave error. On May 18, 1995, Kenan Sudi prepared to
embark on his biannual sixth month journey to trade. He would leave behind his two wives, Naki and
Iman, and their young sons.”
[Naki appears on the screen. The clip is obviously from a
pre-recorded interview. She is wearing a
blue, longed sleeve shirt and a yellow, silk covering over her hair. She is seated in front of a dark cloth
background. Her dark, almond shaped eyes
look sadly but matter-of-factly into the camera as she speaks.]
Naki: “I remember like it was yesterday. Iman and I always dreaded Kenan’s trips out
to the bush to trade, but they were necessary, especially after the birth of
our sons. My son, Zere, had just turned
eight, and Iman’s son, Edet, was ten. I
remember them crying, begging their father to stay. Kenan left us a month’s worth of food, but
when we ran out, Iman and I had to take turns going out for two or three days
to fish; we couldn’t take the kids, it was too harsh for them. Iman went first, so I stayed behind to care
for Zere and Edet.”
[Dennis reappears on the screen, still in the studio]
Dennis: “Iman
returned after three days with plenty of fish, so it wasn’t until late July
when Naki had to take her turn fishing at the river. She had done this a few times before with no
complications, and she did not expect this time to be any different”
[The clip from Naki’s interview resumes.]
Naki: “I left for my
trip early on a Sunday morning. I kissed
both boys goodbye, and waved to Iman. I
had gone through this ritual several times in the past, but I still hated to
leave my son. I missed him every second
I was gone.
Zere was an exceptionally bright boy, whereas Edet was a
little slower - we thought it may have been due to a developmental issue. Of course we never spoke of it. We loved both
boys, or… at least - *quiet cough* at least I did. Sometimes I felt like it bothered Iman - that
my son was smarter than hers - but she never said anything about it, so I
thought nothing of it.”
[The camera is back on Dennis in the studio.]
Dennis: “Naki had no
idea of Iman’s intentions… but the day after Naki left, Iman put her plan into
action. She sharpened a razor blade, and
crept into the boys’ shared room. She approached
the place where Zere usually slept, and began violently slicing the boy all
over his body. The autopsy report
indicates the boy was cut over 60 times; the deep gash in his neck proved to be
fatal. As she attacked the boy she
thought was Zere, the other boy ran out of the house and took refuge at a
neighbor’s house, who called the police.”
[A police officer appears on screen, in a similar looking
room that Naki was shown in. He is a
middle aged man with a thick brown mustache; only half of his mouth seems to
move when he speaks.]
Officer Dabir: “It had been a slow day at the station, so
when we got the neighbor’s call – about a young boy possibly being murdered –
we weren’t prepared for what we were about to encounter. Eight other officers and
I kicked down the door, guns and flashlights extended. We heard a noise in the back bedroom, and
went inside. We found a woman, who
turned out to be Iman, crouching over a small body; her clothes and the carpet were
soaked in blood. It was awful… the boy
hardly looked like a human. It was a
sight that’ll be burned into my memory forever.”
[Dennis reappears on the screen.]
Dennis: “Iman
intended to kill Naki’s boy, but mistook her own son for Zere."
[Naki reappears. She
is in the same setting, but is now sobbing.]
Naki: “Wh-when I came
back… I- I just couldn’t believe it. I
am so fortunate that Zere is still with me, but I mourn every day for Iman and
the loss of Edet… Jealousy turns people into monsters.”
[The studio reappears.]
Dennis: “Iman was
arrested and charged with first-degree murder and after confessing, she was sentenced
to death. She was executed on April 13th,
1998, but the horror of her crime will never be forgotten. We reached out to Kenan, who has since divorced
Naki and moved to South Africa. He
refused to be interviewed or to comment on the case.
That’s all for this week’s episode of Women Who Kill. Goodbye and sleep tight.”
[A soft, eerie song plays as white credits roll over a black
screen.]
Author's Note: This story was inspired by
The Jealous Wife from
Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett, 1898. I kept my version fairly true to the original, which tells the story of a wife who is extremely jealous of her "sister-wife's" son, because he is so much brighter than her own son. While the other wife is out fishing, she attempts to kill the boy with a razor blade during the night. It is dark in the room, so she accidentally ends up killing her own son. The evil woman is killed at the end of the story, when the husband finally believes that she is the one who killed the boy. I wanted to keep the same grisly story, but give it a "true crimes" essence, instead it feeling more like a fable. I also wanted to bring it a little more into the future, but not too recent to where the characters would have cell phones or anything like that. I also wanted to ensure that I illustrated an immoral quality, which is jealously, in case I want to include this story in my portfolio.
