Justice for Rosemary Tochukwu Ukaegbu: A Call to Investigate Abuse, Medical Neglect & Unla
The Issue
Justice for Rosemary Tochukwu Ukaegbu: A Call to Investigate Abuse, Medical Neglect & Unlawful Family Separation
My name is Onyinyechi Evelyn Ukaoha, and I’m calling for justice for my sister, Rosemary Tochukwu Ukaegbu — a vibrant, educated, and deeply loving Nigerian mother who died succumbing to injuries due to fire, on February 28, 2025, after years of horrific abuse, forced institutionalization, and being torn away from her children in the United States.
Rosemary met her husband, Mathew Lashay Johnson, online. He traveled to Nigeria to marry her, and she later joined him in the U.S. expecting a better life. Instead, she found herself living in a truck, subjected to domestic abuse, and eventually tormented by his family.
She suffered postpartum depression after giving birth to her first child in 2015. Instead of receiving help, she was repeatedly institutionalized and forcibly medicated for years — often without her family's knowledge. Her husband lied to authorities and had her locked away in a mental hospital for months. He and his family beat her, insulted her, and even tased her.
In 2017, CPS took her children from her with order from the court. Despite years of pleading and attempts to get better, Rosemary was denied even supervised visitation. Her children were eventually awarded to her abuser, Mathew Johnson, who has cut us off from any contact with them to this day.
Worse still, when Rosemary told authorities that she had family in the UK they said she was delusional.
They labeled her mentally ill and refused to contact any of us.
In February, Rosemary died at a hospital in Minnesota.
We were not notified.
We got to know about this on Facebook, where a nice woman made a post about a lady that died at a hospital in Minnesota and that the post should be shared until it reached her family.
My sister died alone, broken, and unheard — and her children remain out of reach.
We are demanding:
- A full investigation into the abuse, medical negligence, and institutional failures that led to her death.
- Access to and reunification with her children.
- Accountability for those who failed, exploited, or silenced her.
Rosemary mattered. Her life mattered. And she should not have died this way — erased and dismissed.
Please sign this petition to help us fight for justice, truth, and healing for Rosemary, and to protect others like her from the same fate.
1,147
The Issue
Justice for Rosemary Tochukwu Ukaegbu: A Call to Investigate Abuse, Medical Neglect & Unlawful Family Separation
My name is Onyinyechi Evelyn Ukaoha, and I’m calling for justice for my sister, Rosemary Tochukwu Ukaegbu — a vibrant, educated, and deeply loving Nigerian mother who died succumbing to injuries due to fire, on February 28, 2025, after years of horrific abuse, forced institutionalization, and being torn away from her children in the United States.
Rosemary met her husband, Mathew Lashay Johnson, online. He traveled to Nigeria to marry her, and she later joined him in the U.S. expecting a better life. Instead, she found herself living in a truck, subjected to domestic abuse, and eventually tormented by his family.
She suffered postpartum depression after giving birth to her first child in 2015. Instead of receiving help, she was repeatedly institutionalized and forcibly medicated for years — often without her family's knowledge. Her husband lied to authorities and had her locked away in a mental hospital for months. He and his family beat her, insulted her, and even tased her.
In 2017, CPS took her children from her with order from the court. Despite years of pleading and attempts to get better, Rosemary was denied even supervised visitation. Her children were eventually awarded to her abuser, Mathew Johnson, who has cut us off from any contact with them to this day.
Worse still, when Rosemary told authorities that she had family in the UK they said she was delusional.
They labeled her mentally ill and refused to contact any of us.
In February, Rosemary died at a hospital in Minnesota.
We were not notified.
We got to know about this on Facebook, where a nice woman made a post about a lady that died at a hospital in Minnesota and that the post should be shared until it reached her family.
My sister died alone, broken, and unheard — and her children remain out of reach.
We are demanding:
- A full investigation into the abuse, medical negligence, and institutional failures that led to her death.
- Access to and reunification with her children.
- Accountability for those who failed, exploited, or silenced her.
Rosemary mattered. Her life mattered. And she should not have died this way — erased and dismissed.
Please sign this petition to help us fight for justice, truth, and healing for Rosemary, and to protect others like her from the same fate.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 16 May 2025