The manager of Century Home Hotel in Owehlogbo, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, has confessed to the murder of 22-year-old Point-of-Sale operator, Onoriode Bethel.
The suspect, identified as Iboirode, admitted to luring Bethel to the hotel under the guise of settling a financial dispute, killing her, and secretly burying her body within the hotel premises.
Spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the shocking confession on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
“The suspect murdered Bethel and buried her body on the hotel premises,” Edafe stated.
According to the police, Bethel had earlier accused Iboirode of defrauding her with a fake bank alert to the tune of N10,000. Though she eventually recovered the money, the suspect reportedly held a grudge, claiming the incident had tarnished his image.
Police investigations revealed that after luring her into the hotel, the suspect forced Bethel to give him her POS password, withdrew money using her device, and later used her phone to contact her father in a failed attempt to demand ransom—after she had already been murdered.
“He used her phone to call her father, demanding ransom. He even used her POS to collect the money, extracted the password from the girl before killing her. Her remains have been recovered,” Edafe added.
Further chilling details emerged from the suspect’s wife, who confessed to being aware of the crime.
“My husband called her into the hotel; she is a friend of his. That day, he called her on the phone and took her into a room. It was around 7 pm one evening. I don’t know how he killed her because I was in our room. It was when he came out around midnight that he told me he had killed her,” she revealed.
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Bethel had been declared missing since December 13, 2024. The case resurfaced during police investigations into the unrelated murder of a guest, Pastor Sunday Ogofohta, at the same hotel in March 2025. Iboirode and other hotel staff were arrested during the probe, eventually leading to the breakthrough in Bethel’s case.
The Delta State Police Command has assured that the investigation remains ongoing and promised that justice will be served.
