Abesim ‘Killer’ Trial Begins May 26

Richard Appiah

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 into discharging the previous panel after some of the jurors indicated their unavailability for the trial.

The court presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey would 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 would be testifying in Twi while the other two have opted for English.

The accused himself would 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 case management conference and empaneling of the jury.

Charges

Richard 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 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 passed fit to stand trial, having undergone medical treatment after a mental episode.

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 investigations caution statements and further investigations 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.

Again, the prosecution 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.

He is said to have initially denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Louis Agyemang, the boy who went missing.

The police discovered the intestines of the victims buried on a cocoa farm.

A police statement 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 statement, signed by ACP Kwesi Ofori, acting Director-General, Public Affairs, explained further 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 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

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