Appiah’s case was adjourned because of the absence of a juror.

When the matter was called, six members of the jury were present instead of seven.

The court was informed that the absentee juror had written to the Registry of the Court, but the court said it was not aware of any letter.

It therefore adjourned the matter so it could conclude on the case completion plan.

Appiah, who is also a draughtsman, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder before a seven-member jury.

He is being held for allegedly killing two minors, Loius Agyemang, his stepbrother, and Stephen Sarpong, in Abesim, Bono Region, in 2021.

The Court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, has remanded Appiah into lawful custody.

Nana Ama Adinkra, a Senior State Attorney, represented the state while Appiah is being represented by Faustinus Yirilabuo.

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Appearing before the court today, October 10, 2023, Appiah told the court that he would like his plea to be taken in English. 

Appiah is facing a charge of murder. 

The court presided over by Mrs Justice Ruby Aryeetey, adjourned the matter to November 1, 2023, saying the court would at the next sitting take the plea. 

The court also tasked defense counsel and prosecution to get ready to address the court as a seven-member jury was also constituted for trial to commence. 

A Kaneshie District Court in July 2023 committed Appiah to stand trial at the High Court. 

The committal came after the Attorney General recommended that he should be charged with murder of two minors – Louis Agyemang and Stephen Sarpong. 

Appiah, who initially experienced mental instability and underwent medical care, has been declared fit to stand trial. 

The prosecution said six witnesses would be called to establish the charge against the accused persons. 

The defense counsel would be calling two witnesses. 

Appiah is accused of gruesomely killing and storing some of the body parts of the victims in a refrigerator in the year 2021 at Abesim. 

The Police, during investigations, retrieved some of the body parts and intestines from a farm. 

The Police would be tendering the autopsy reports of the two minors, particularly burnt clothes and clippers of the minors and their pictures among others. 

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The 28-year-old, said to be a footballer, told the court that he wants permission to go and train and start playing his football again.

It was the first time the arraigned accused person broke his silence when he appeared without counsel.

The alleged murderer pleaded with the court to allow him to start training and play football as he is a footballer and that is the only work he can do now.

The Magistrate, Ama Adomako Kwakye, subsequently urged him to acquire the services of a lawyer and go to the High Court and seek bail.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor in the case, Chief Inspector Lawrence Anane, told the court that, the prosecution is still waiting for the Attorney-General’s advice.

He, therefore, pleaded with the court for a date.

But, the Magistrate, who was unhappy, wondered why they took a long date without her consent.

Appiah is alleged to have murdered the boys and also kept some of their body parts in a fridge in his house.

Even though the charges and the facts were read to him in open court on August 26 when he first appeared, his plea was not taken.

Some body parts and intestines, believed to be those of the victims, were allegedly retrieved on a farm.

The minors have since been buried.

The case has been adjourned to April 28.

The funeral was held in his family home at Alaska on Saturday, October 16.

His parents, family and other sympathisers could not restrict themselves from shedding tears, as they demand justice to prevail for them to have the closure they deserve.

He is one of the two victims who were murdered and mutilated by one sports analyst, Richard Appiah at Alaska, a Suburb of Sunyani in the Bono Region.

The funeral comes off barely two months after police discovered the body parts of the two victims stuffed in the suspect’s fridge.

His body was released to the family following ongoing investigations and reports from a pathologist who gave a go-ahead for burial.

His father, while expressing his heartfelt emotions, stated he leaves vengeance to the Lord, and urged Ghana’s legal service to play it’s part.

He, however, mourned that until the remaining body parts; including the kidney and genitals of his son are retrieved, he will have no peace.

On her part, mother of the victim described the death as a big blow to the family.

“The death of my son Sarpong is a very big blow to me. He was destined to be a great person to the benefit of our family but Richard took him from me. I am appealing to the leaders of this country, the female judges to help me and my family attain justice,” she said.

Meanwhile, suspect Appiah is currently facing trial for the murders.

Richard Appiah, 28, is reported to have told investigators that he started killing dogs before switching to the killing of human beings.

The source said he told his interrogators that something urged him to kill a black dog, which he did.

Mr Appiah told the police he only ate the head of the dog after killing it.

According to the source, “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 an investigation.”

The 28-year-old, according to the source, one week after killing the dog, “told the interrogators that the so-called ‘something’ urged him again to kill human beings and that was exactly what he did.”

Some residents of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region, a town rocked by the gruesome murder of two children, say they suspect is a serial killer.

They have asked the Police to investigate the mysterious disappearance of people in the area.

The arrest of Richard Appiah and a subsequent Police search of his house revealed the bodies of two children, aged 12 and 15.

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Louis Agyemang is believed to be a family member of the suspect and Stephen Sarpong’s body was allegedly dismembered by the accused person.

Pieces of flesh suspected to be human parts were also found stocked in a fridge in his house in August this year. 

In an interaction with Luv FM, the mother of Stephen Sarpong, one of the victims, said she believes her son’s death may lead to exposing the suspect’s hidden serial crimes.

According to a DailyGuide report, there appeared to be some kind of stalemate between the police and the families of the victims over the burial of the deceased.

Louis Agyeman was buried last weekend but the family of George Sarpong initially did not want to take the body in protest for the slow pace of investigations into the matter.

However, the newspaper said it is reliably informed that the family has now decided to collect the body from the police and bury him over the coming weekend.

Richard Appiah, 28, sent shockwaves across the country in August, when he was caught keeping human body parts in a refrigerator in his room at Alaska, a suburb of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region.

A source has told Daily Guide that since coming into police custody, suspect Appiah has only insisted on eating fried rice with chicken and will eat nothing else apart from the popular food.

He is said to be giving some information about what might have motivated him to perpetuate the heinous crimes, and reportedly told investigators that he started killing dogs before switching to the killing of human beings.

According to the police, he killed at least two boys aged between 13 and 15.

Their names were given as Louis Agyemang, believed to be a family member of the suspect, and Stephen Sarpong, 15, whose body was dismembered by the accused person.

Spiritual Alibi

Suspect Appiah told his interrogators that something urged him to kill a black dog, which he did.

He informed the police he only ate the head of the dog after killing it, and the source said “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 investigation.”

According to the source, one week after killing 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.”

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Psychiatric Issue

The source said suspect Appiah does not appear to be mentally sound, a claim many people do not support.

“There is evidence to show that Richard Appiah had 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.”

According to the source, the police have requested for psychiatric evaluation for the suspect, and it was being done at the Psychiatry Hospital in Accra, as part of the investigation.

No Collaborators

The source refuted rumours going around in Sunyani that the suspect mentioned his collaborators during investigations as including politicians, owners of hotels and chop bar operators, both in Sunyani and Berekum.

“It is a lie. You see when the news broke it was even mentioned that Richard owed 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 noted.

No Cover-Up

The source further refuted allegations that because the police administration wanted to conceal evidence, they transferred the suspect to Accra.

“The police administration has procedures in dealing with crime. The IGP as the head decides to do whatever he thinks is best with 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 pointed out.

Body Parts

According to the source, the forensic investigations being carried out by pathologists indicated that all parts of the disfigured bodies were intact except their genitals which were missing.

The suspect, the source said, accepted that he put the genitals into a water closet and flushed everything.

“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.”

Victims Burial

There appeared to be some kind of stalemate between the police and the families of the victims over the burial of the deceased.

Louis Agyeman was buried last weekend but the family of George Sarpong initially did not want to take the body in protest for the slow pace of investigations into the matter.

However, Daily Guide understands that the family has now decided to collect the body from the police and bury him over the coming weekend.

Court Process

Back in Accra, the case of Appiah was adjourned to October 25.

The case had been rescheduled for October 5, but had to be adjourned because the magistrate hearing the matter had taken her leave.

The police at the last court sitting had indicated to the court that they were awaiting the results of an autopsy conducted on the mortal remains of the two children found in the room of the accused person.

Chief Inspector Lawrence Anane told the court that once they received the autopsy report, they will conclude their investigations and forward a duplicate docket to Office of the Attorney General for advice.

Gruesome Murder

Richard Appiah, believed to be an architect or surveyor and a footballer, was said to be a friend to the victims.

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

It was alleged that, Appiah after the dastardly act, brought out his clothing and set it on fire, probably to delete any evidence of the crime.

Discovered Intestines

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

A police statement signed by ACP Kwesi Ofori, acting Director-General, Public Affairs, of the Ghana Police Service 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.”

The statement said 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.

 

Suspect Appiah is alleged to have committed the gruesome murder of the boys and also kept some of their body parts in a fridge.

He appeared before the court today (Thursday) on a provisional charge of two counts of murder.

His plea was not taken as the court is for committal purposes and not the trial court.

Investigations

The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Florence Anane, prayed the court to remand the suspect to aid investigations into the case.

She said investigations into the case were still ongoing.

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The Magistrate, Ms Ama Adomako Kwakye, granted the request of the prosecutor and remanded the suspect.

Suspect Appiah, who appeared in court without a lawyer, is expected to go back to court on September 15.

Their intestines and other organs that make up the stomach were retrieved from a cocoa farm close to the suspect’s house.

This was on Wednesday after the suspect, Richard Appiah, led the team on the search upon interrogation.

After the retrieval, the Police realised the genitals of the two bodies were missing.

They went on to empty a septic tank in the house but found nothing.

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However, the bodies have been sent to Accra for autopsy while the suspect is still in police custody in the region, assisting further investigations.

Though earlier reports indicated the suspect is an architect, the Association said he does not satisfy any requirement of their membership per their constitution.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary, Augustina Richardson, making reference to the provisions of the Architect Act 1969 (N.L.C.D 357).

The statement, among other things, said one must be registered as an architect on payment of the prescribed fee.

It has since urged the general public to disregard the reports of Mr Appiah being an architect.

Mr Appiah was arrested after the father of one of his victims, Louis Agyemang Junior aged 12, reported him to the police.

According to the police statement, the victim’s father, 56-year-old Thomas Adjei, reported that the suspect, who is also his stepson, had come for Louis around 5:30 pm on Friday, August 20.

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However, at about 10:00 pm, Mr Adjei said his younger son had still not returned home.

Accompanied by his four brothers, the complainant arrested the suspect who he believed knew the whereabouts of the 12-year-old boy and brought him to the station for questioning.

Read the statement below: