Richard Appiah
A High Court in Accra has indicated its readiness to hold a day-to-day trial in the case of Richard Appiah, a footballer who allegedly killed two boys and kept their body parts in a refrigerator at Alaska, a suburb of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region.
The court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, is therefore hoping that the prosecution would have concluded its case by calling all their witnesses before the legal vacation which commences at the end of June every year.
Appiah has been charged with two counts of murder in relation to the gruesome murder of 15-year-old Stephen Boateng, who was in JHS 2, and the suspect’s own 12-year-old step-brother, Louis Agyemang.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded into custody by the court pending the trial.
The Attorney General recommended that the accused be charged with the murder of the minors after he was passed fit to stand trial, having undergone medical treatment after a mental episode.
The court has already empanelled a seven-member jury which would be hearing the case and return a verdict based on the evidence presented at trial.
The court was expected to conclude its case completion plan yesterday after which a date would given for the prosecution to call its first witness in the trial.
But the case was adjourned to May 27, 2024, after two of the jurors were absent. One of them showed up in the middle of the case but the foreman was still absent and the court was told he had gone to see a medical officer.
The judge was not impressed by the foreman’s absence and the fact that he could not write to the court informing it of his condition, describing the conduct as “disrespect to the court.”
She said she does not want to fine any juror in the trial but she would be left with no other choice if she is forced to do so.
“My target is for the prosecution to close its case before we go for vacation. Even if we can do it day-to-day,” Justice Aryeetey said before later confirming that the case would be held on day-to-day basis.
The prosecution has so far filed the witness statement of five witnesses which they intend to rely on to prove the guilt of the accused person.
Nana Ama Adinkra, a Senior State Attorney at Office of the Attorney General, previously told the court that the prosecution would be relying on documents listed in the summary of evidence attached to the Bill of Indictment filed on May 31, 2023.
These include investigation caution statements and further investigation caution statements of the accused person dated August 21, 2021, August 23, 2021 and September 10, 2021, respectively.
The prosecution will also be relying on the autopsy reports of Stephen Sarpong and Louis Agyemang Jnr dated December 16, 2022 and May 25, 2023 respectively.
Madam Adinkra also indicated that they will be relying on photographs of the body parts of Stephen Sarpong, partially burnt clothes, and slippers.
Other exhibits include photographs of a double door fridge of the accused containing body parts of deceased Stephen Sarpong and a charge statement of accused dated November 10, 2022.
Murder
Richard Appiah is believed to have been cooking for the victims and showing them some affection, and through that supposed kindness, he was able to lure them and subsequently kill them in turns.
A police statement following his arrest indicated that, “The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters team investigating the Abesim murder case has yesterday, Tuesday, August 24, 2021, discovered a place where suspect Richard Appiah buried the intestines of one of the murder victims.”
“The intestines were buried on a cocoa farm at Abesim, which the police have since exhumed for pathological analysis and forensic examination in Accra,” the statement pointed out.
The investigation team has also worked around a septic tank and other places of concern for further examinations, the statement said.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
