Help Us Find Richard Okorogheye
The Let's Talk Show interviews mum Evidence about her son's disappearance.
Part transcript -
EJ is Richard's mum -
EJ: Richard on 22nd March, Richard said to me around 7:30pm he was going to see a friend…he was supposed to go there but he didn’t actually turn up there…his hygiene level was dropping and he was a bit withdrawn, not going out to friends…for a year… just me and him and him going to the shop and back…
When did you become worried?
EJ: …when I got to work around 10, I start work at 8 o’clock, 10pm I called Richard, the phone rang a little bit a few times, he didn’t answer the call, around 11pm I called him the phone was not going again so I didn’t have…
So it wasn’t ringing at 11?
EJ: Yes, it wasn’t ringing again, so I didn’t have much worry because I was okay maybe he decided not to charge his phone whatnot, cos I trust him, if he was going far he would have said, the fact I knew he was, I felt he was in neighbourhood I didn’t really worry too much. It’s when I came back from work next day, that I found his phone was not going through at all.
So when you came back the next day did you realise then actually he wasn’t home?
EJ: Yes, his shoes, normally we keep all the shoes by the door, his shoes wasn’t there, the only thing that was there was his slider. So I prepared, when I came back from work I prepared a meal, normally I cook for him, leave the food out, so that when I go to sleep he wakes up he can help himself. But he didn’t, he didn’t get up, he wasn’t here,
So what were your thoughts, when did you really become concerned?
EJ: Around 5. When I got to around 2, 3, I called him he didn’t answer, I called again he didn’t answer, so I went to his room, knocked on the door, he didn’t answer, so I decided okay I need to get a locksmith, in case he’s laying unconscious, something’s happened in there
So was his door locked?
EJ: It was locked, he locks his door because of privacy. So when the locksmith came in they opened the door, he wasn’t there, so I immediately went to his friend’s house to ask if Richard turned up yesterday to the house, and they said they never saw him, at all.
So what did you do then?
EJ: Then I went to the security downstairs to see if he actually went out the building. So there was a footage that showed Richard left home around 8:34 heading to Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury’s. That’s when I knew that Richard actually didn’t go to his friends, he went somewhere else, he went somewhere to meet somebody.
So Evidence when you’ve tried calling him now does the phone just not connect?
EJ: From that Monday to now the phone doesn’t connect at all. It doesn’t, it’s just on voicemail constantly.