The trial of Richard Appiah, a draughtsman who killed two boys and kept their body parts in a refrigerator at Alaska, a suburb of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region, is set to begin on May 26, 2025.
A High Court in Accra is expected to empanel a seven-member jury to hear the case, which has been pending before the court since August 2023.
The court was forced to discharge the previous panel after some of the jurors indicated their unavailability for the trial.
The court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, will also be sitting on the matter every day once the jury is set in order to expeditiously deal with the case.
The prosecution is set to call four witnesses—two of whom will testify in Twi, while the other two have opted for English.
The accused himself will testify in English should the court find the prosecution’s case compelling enough for him to mount a defence.
The court has therefore adjourned the case to May 14, 2025, for a case management conference and the empaneling of the jury.
Charges
Richard Appiah has been charged with two counts of murder in relation to the gruesome killing of 15-year-old Stephen Boateng, who was in JHS 2, and the suspect’s own 12-year-old stepbrother, Louis Agyemang.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded into custody by the court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, pending the trial.
The previous Attorney General recommended that the accused be charged with the murder of the minors after he was declared fit to stand trial, having undergone medical treatment following a mental episode.
The prosecution will rely 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 dated August 21, 2021, August 23, 2021, and September 10, 2021, respectively.
The prosecution will also rely on the autopsy reports of Stephen Sarpong and Louis Agyemang Jnr., dated December 16, 2022, and May 25, 2023, respectively.
Additionally, the prosecution will rely on photographs of the body parts of Stephen Sarpong, partially burnt clothes, and slippers.
Other exhibits include photographs of a double-door fridge belonging to the accused, containing body parts of the deceased Stephen Sarpong, and a charge statement of the accused dated November 10, 2022.
Murder
Richard Appiah is believed to have been cooking for the victims and showing them affection. Through this supposed kindness, he was able to lure them and subsequently kill them in turns.
He is said to have initially denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Louis Agyemang, the boy who went missing.
The police later discovered the intestines of the victims buried on a cocoa farm.
A police statement indicated, “The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters team investigating the Abesim murder case has, on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, discovered a place where suspect Richard Appiah buried the intestines of one of the murder victims.”
The statement, signed by ACP Kwesi Ofori, Acting Director-General, Public Affairs, further explained how the police also found a sharp cutlass used in the murder, as well as where the body parts were buried.
“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 noted.
The investigation team also examined a septic tank and other areas of concern for further analysis, the statement added.
