The Montgomery Journal
October 29, 1999
Family remembers generosity of eldest brother
By TERRY LANE
Journal staff writer
Olanipekun. In Yoruba, it means “infinite wealth.”
At the time of his murder, Olanipekun “Tony” Oyefusi, a 41-year-old Nigerian immigrant who worked nearly every day – sometimes
18 hours a day – as a taxi driver, was far from being a wealthy man.
When police came to his Germantown town house on Oct. 2, 1998, they found an eviction notice on his door.
In his bedroom, they found a naked and bloody Oyefusi.
But while Oyefusi had limited means, his wife, Kelly Lynn Bradshaw – convicted last week of his murder – told her friends his wealth
was all she loved about him.
During the recent first-degree murder trial of the 21-year-old Germantown woman, testimony showed Oyefusi’s hard work provided
Bradshaw with a harbor to drink, do drugs and be sexually promiscuous.
When Oyefusi took it away, he was killed.
In the wake of Bradshaw’s murder conviction and sentencing of co-defendant Darrell “Speedy” Butler, family members remember
Oyefusi as a loving and generous man whose kindness provided more than his wallet ever could.
“He loved this country”
It was a love of American culture and desire for a “taste of something different” that prompted Oyefusi, grandson of a Nigerian king,
to move from the West African country of 113 million people to New Orleans in 1980, said Ligali Oyefusi, 40, Olanipekun’s younger
brother, who now lives and works in Rockville.
In Olanipekun Oyefusi’s home city of Lagos, on Nigeria’s southern shore, his family’s descent from a king, which his brother Ligali
likened to a governor, did not place him among the city’s wealthiest people.
” He commanded more respect than a wealthy person,” the brother said. “He was like a prince.”
Still, the prince watched American movies, listened to American jazz and dreamed of the time when he could enjoy America’s
freedoms.
After arriving in New Orleans at the age of 22, Oyefusi began encouraging his relatives to join him. Eventually, Ligali, brother
Oluyinka, cousin Denny and other relatives joined Olanipekun in America.
“He thinks in a Western kind of way. He was a Western kind of guy,” Ligali Oyefusi said. “He would always tell us how much he
loved it here.”
Olanipekun Oyefusi quickly adapted to American ways and also helped his relatives adapt.
To help ease the transition, Olanipekun developed nicknames for his relatives because Americans had such difficulty pronouncing the
African versions.
Ligali became “Lee,” Oluyinka is now known as “YK” and Olanipekun referred to himself as “Tony.”
But though he loved American culture, Oluyinka said he still preferred the Nigerian spirit of generosity to the greedier tendencies of
Americans. “Like a father to us”
As the eldest of five siblings, Olanipekun gladly accepted his role as the provider, said Oluyinka, Olanipekun’s 30-year-old younger
brother.
“He put the burden of his brothers and sisters on himself,” Oluyinka said. “A lot of people depended on him.”
And Olanipekun delivered, his family members said.
Three relatives, Ligali, sister Olawunmi and cousin Denny, completed college in America with Olanipekun’s support, both moral and
financial.
Olanipekun even stopped studying accounting at Southern University in Baton Rogue, La., so he could work and help pay his
relatives’ tuition, Ligali said.
Olawunmi eventually received a master’s degree in nursing from Union College in Columbia and is now working as a registered nurse
in London.
Denny graduated with a bachelor’s in business from Southern and Ligali earned a bachelor’s degree in international business from
Loyola University in New Orleans.
“He liked to take care of people,” Oluyinka said. “Even if he just met you, he would go the extra length for you.”
As a family member, Bradshaw also benefited from Olanipekun, who demanded other family members extend their generosity to her.
Oluyinka remembers having to lend his car to Bradshaw after Olanipekun asked.
“Tony would give anything to Kelly,” Oluyinka said. “I would have to give my car to Kelly. When someone is older than you, you
have to respect their wishes.”
Testimony from Bradshaw’s trial showed her friends also benefited from Olanipekun’s generosity.
Bradshaw did not work and often had friends over to party. Several of her friends lived at the apartment rent-free.
Robert Kaye, Bradshaw’s court-appointed attorney, used Olanipekun’s generosity as part of the defense in his closing arguments,
questioning what motive she would have to kill him.
“Whatever she had, she had from Tony,” Kaye said.
Assistant State’s Attorney John J. McCarthy said Olanipekun “indulged every whim Bradshaw had.”
<“It’s love.”
After two years of dating, Olanipekun married Bradshaw in November 1997, Oluyinka said.
But Olanipekun, who was very shy and spent most of his time working for the Barwood Taxi Company, did not spend much time
with Bradshaw in what her defense attorneys called “the party house.”
Still, family members said even though the two quickly began to grow apart, Olanipekun would often brag about her, showing her
picture to strangers and talking about their love.
Family members could not explain what Olanipekun saw in Bradshaw. They could only say that what he saw, he loved.
“He adored her,” Ligali said. “She just took advantage of him.”
Olanipekun knew Bradshaw had problems and he wanted to work with her, Ligali said.
He scheduled Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for her, tried to help her cut back on her cigarette smoking and forgave her every time
she disappointed him, Ligali said.
“He thought he could help her,” Oluyinka said. “He loved to help her. He was even willing to forgive the unforgivable. He caught her
sleeping with another guy.”
Testimony showed Bradshaw used her free time not just to party, but to have sex with several men other than Olanipekun.
One of those men was Darrell Butler.
Jerome Briscoe, Butler’s lawyer, said Bradshaw had a claim to fame among revelers at “the party house.”
“She would brag that she could get anything out of him,” Briscoe said. “She didn’t have to contribute to the marriage.”
After catching Bradshaw and Butler having sex, he simply asked her not to do it again.
For a time, things looked like they were getting better, Oluyinka said. Bradshaw began cooking and cleaning the house.
Then, he again caught her sleeping with Butler, and kicked her out.
“A ruse”
Bradshaw provided little in return for Oyefusi’s love.
Several witnesses testified she said she married him only for his money. They also said she planned to divorce him in November
1998, a year into their marriage, and take half of what he owned.
But prosecutors said once on the street, Bradshaw and Butler began to develop a plan to begin to get some of her share sooner.
On Sept. 29, 1998, Bradshaw returned to Oyefusi’s town house and told him she wanted to work things out.
The two went upstairs to make love.
But McCarthy said it was just “a ruse” to get Oyefusi off his guard so the two could rob him at knifepoint.
Butler caught Olanipekun naked and his surprise caused a reaction neither anticipated, McCarthy said.
Soon, Olanipekun lay dead from 12 stab wounds.
The news caused a wave of pain that spread through the Oyefusi family. Ligali said three of his elder Nigerian relatives “died from
shock.”
“Every time I talk to my sister, she’s crying,” Ligali said.
But after Butler yesterday received a life sentence, and with Bradshaw facing a life sentence without the possibility of parole when
she is sentenced Dec. 13, family members said they are finally developing a feeling of closure.
“It was good to learn the facts, to know what happened to him,” Oluyinka said. “But it still hurts deep down.”