Mansaray, deputy editor of the independent Standard Times, was murdered by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels at their home in Calabar Town, east of Freetown. His wife, their two young children, and a nephew were also killed. A fellow journalist who was with Mansaray and his family at the time saw the rebels approaching the house and escaped through a window as Mansaray was alerting his family to flee.
The RUF rebels were overheard shouting at Mansaray and threatening him about his journalistic work. They set the house ablaze, firing their weapons into it as it burned to the ground with Mansaray and his family inside.