A tragic incident in Warri, Delta State, has reignited conversations around the dangers of online dating after a young woman identified as Brenda passed away under mysterious circumstances following a visit to a man she met on TikTok.
According to reports, Brenda had been communicating for three days with a TikTok user known as Emmypounds before accepting his invitation to spend the night at his apartment along Jakpa Road.
Concern grew among Brenda’s family and friends when she became unreachable for several days. A close friend, who had access to her TikTok messages through another device, discovered that Brenda had gone to meet Emmypounds, prompting a frantic search for her whereabouts.
When contacted, Emmypounds claimed Brenda had fallen ill and had been taken to a hospital. Her family eventually found her in critical condition, unconscious, bruised, and wearing adult diapers due to a loss of bowel and bladder control. She was unable to speak and later passed away without disclosing what happened.
Emmypounds was arrested and questioned by the police. He denied any wrongdoing, claiming they had slept in the same room and that he woke up to find her in a deteriorated state.
Speaking on the incident, Delta State Police spokesperson DSP Bright Edafe said the case is not currently being treated as murder. Preliminary investigations suggest that Brenda may have died from inhaling generator fumes. Edafe also confirmed that Emmypounds showed signs of exposure to the same fumes and was taken into custody after receiving medical attention.
Brenda has since been laid to rest, while the police continue their investigation.