The commencement of the trial of Richard Appiah, the draughtsman accused of killing two minors and keeping their bodies in a refrigerator at Abesim near Sunyani, has been scheduled for March 14, 2024.
Appiah, also said to be a footballer, had earlier pleaded not guilty before an Accra High Court.
On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, the court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, fixed the commencement date after the conclusion of the case management conference.
Appiah denied killing two minors, namely Louis Agyemang, 12, and Stephen Sarpong, 15.
He is facing two counts of murder.
The prosecution narrated that the accused person, Richard Appiah, resided in his father’s house at Abesim in the Bono region.
Louis Agyeman, aged 12 years, is the half-brother of the accused person, while Stephen Sarpong is a neighbour of the accused person, prosecutors said.
In the year 2021, the prosecution said that Louis Agyemang’s father, Thomas Agyei, reported to the police his missing son.
The prosecution said Agyei told the police that the minor was last seen in the company of the accused person.
It said Agyei later returned with some community members, saying Richard Appiah knew Agyeman’s whereabouts.
The prosecution said the police went to Appiah’s house and found some laptops and other items.
According to the prosecutor, initially, when the police went there, they found nothing incriminatory.
However, it said there was a locked room, and the police insisted on opening it.
The prosecution said that when the door was unlocked, the body of Louis Agyemang was found lying in a supine position on the floor.
Additionally, the prosecution said the police found a refrigerator, and when it was opened, they found the mutilated head of a young boy, which was identified as Stephen Sarpong’s head.
The prosecution said the police found money and a Techno mobile phone in the room.
The police retrieved the pair of sandals of the victim and the partially burned clothes of the victim.
The prosecution said the police retrieved the body parts of the victims, and, together with the accused, they were escorted to Accra, where the bodies were sent to the police hospital morgue for autopsy.
