Richard Appiah
Richard Appiah, the 28-year-old man who killed two children and kept parts of the bodies in a refrigerator at Alaska, a suburb of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region, has been remanded into custody by a Kaneshie Magistrate Court in Accra.
The suspect was yesterday hauled before the court on a provisional charge of two counts of murder.
The alleged killer, whose actions could be likened to a cannibal, made his maiden appearance before the court yesterday escorted by heavily armed police officers.
He was said to have been brought to Accra, far away from the crime scene, on the orders of the IGP, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, to facilitate speedy investigations into the dastardly act which has sent shockwaves in the country.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Lawrence Anane, prayed the court to remand the accused person pending further police investigations.
The court, presided over by Her Worship Ama Adomako Kwakye, granted the prayer and remanded Richard Appiah into police custody.
His plea has been reserved as the court does not have the jurisdiction to take his plea in a murder case.
The accused person, who was without a lawyer, is expected to return to court on September 15, 2021.
Gruesome Murder
Richard Appiah, believed to be an architect or surveyor and a footballer, was a friend to the victims who have been identified as 15-year-old Stephen Boateng who was in JHS 2, the suspect’s own 12-year-old step-brother Louis Agyemang, and the police suspect a girl’s body could also be involved.
He 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.
The Abesim ‘cannibal’ is said to be a man who hardly smiles, and per police records, four persons are said to have gone missing in the neighbourhood where he lives.
This has led to a heightened suspicion that he could be behind the strange disappearances.
He is said to have initially denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Louis Agyemang, the boy who went missing, but whose body was eventually found in his refrigerator.
It was a man who lives in the neighbourhood who insisted that the suspect knew the whereabouts of Louis because he had seen the suspect and the victim together on the day the victim went missing.
Discovered Intestines
The police on Wednesday issued an update saying they have discovered the intestines of the victims buried on a cocoa farm.
A police statement signed by ACP Kwesi Ofori, acting Director-General, Public Affairs said “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.”
It further explained how the police also found a sharp cutlass used in the murder, as well as where the body parts were buried, saying “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 investigation team has also worked around a septic tank and other places of concern for further examinations, the statement said.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak