The Daily Guide says a source close to Abesim murder investigation has disclosed the state of a probe into the arrest of a 28-year-old man said to have murdered at least two persons and kept their dismembered body in his fridge.
According to the source, Richard Appiah since his arrest and detention in police custody has insisted on being served with fried rice with chicken only.
Appiah was arrested in August this year after some human parts stored in his fridge was discovered by police at his residence in Alaska, a suburb of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region.
The identities of the dismembered bodies were said to include that of a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old boy. They have been identified as Loius Agyemang, said to be a relative of the suspect and Stephen Sarpong.
The suspect following his arrest is said to have opened up about the motivation for his heinous act as he is said to have informed investigators that he started the murder spree by killing dogs before graduating to killing human beings.
The source disclosed, Appiah stated his act was premised on the others of a certain spiritual force whose order was for him to kill a black dog.
The suspect has reportedly confessed to eating the head of the black dog after killing it with the source stating “there is evidence to show that he really killed a black dog first before he turned to the people he killed.”
“That ‘something’ he is claiming influenced him to commit the heinous crimes, we do not know. The police do not dwell on spirits to do the investigation.”
Appiah states that the order to kill a human came a week after he had killed the dog, “he told the interrogators that the so-called ‘something’ urged him again to kill human beings and that was exactly what he did.”
The suspect from investigations is said to be suffering from a psychiatric condition as he appears not to be mentally sound.
“There is evidence to show that Richard Appiah had a psychological problem, saying some time ago he visited the hospital for psychiatry examination,” the source said, adding “there was evidence that he was taken to the hospital. If you like, you can check the hospital here in Sunyani to verify.”
He is said to be undergoing psychiatric review at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital at the request of the police.
However, the Daily Guide report sighted by GhanaWeb says the source has disputed claims said to be circulating around Sunyani that the suspect mentioned some politicians, owners of hotels and chop bar operators, both in Sunyani and Berekum as his collaborators.
“It is a lie. You see when the news broke it was even mentioned that Richard owed a fleet of cars and mansions. Look, the storey building opposite the crime scene is for somebody who is domiciled abroad and not even in the country. Richard Appiah does not even owe a motorbike let alone cars,” the source is reported to have said.
The source further refutes allegations of police cover-up saying “the police administration has procedures in dealing with crime. The IGP as the head decides to do whatever he thinks is best with the investigation in any part of the country. The transfer was purely an administrative decision aimed at ensuring investigations are done expeditiously.
“The IGP or the regional commanders can decide where investigations into a case can take place and that is not to hide anything from the public.”
The source indicates that except for the genitals of his victims, all the body parts of the victims were intact based on forensic investigations carried out by pathologists.
The suspect is said to have confessed to flushing the genitals in a water closet.
“That was why the police had to draw water from the septic tanks at the crime scene in order to check for the information he gave out during interrogation,” the source said.
Louis Agyeman, one of the victims is said to have been buried last week following the release of his remains to his family by the police.
The burial of George Sarpong on the other hand is said to have been delayed due to a stalemate between his family and the police
The family is said to have initially rejected the body for burial in protest of what they say is the slow pace of investigations into the matter. Daily Guide however reports that the family has finally agreed to claim the body for burial over the weekend.
State of court process
Richard Appiah is scheduled to make a reappearance in court on October 25, 2021.
During the last court sitting on the case, the police stated that it was awaiting the results of an autopsy conducted on the mortal remains of the two victims found in the room of the accused.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Lawrence Anane told the court the police will conclude its investigations once it receives the autopsy report, following which a duplicate will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for advice.
source: Ghana Web
