Abesim Murder: 2nd Boy’s Father Speaks

The father of the 15-year-old boy, Stephen Sarpong, who was allegedly killed and his body cut into pieces and stored in a double-door fridge, has described the suspect, Richard Appiah as a friend and business partner.

The 28-year-old suspect is in police custody in Sunyani after he butchered the JHS 2 student and two others.

The lifeless body of the suspect’s 12-year-old stepbrother, Louis Agyemang, and a yet-to-be-identified body was also found in his apartment.

This follows the Inspector-General of Police’s (IGP) visit to Abesim to ascertain the murder of the three people, two of them identified.

Stephen Sarpong who couldn’t hide his pains said he could never have suspected his friend of committing such an atrocious act against him and his family.

Narrating the incident, the man said, “It was a Sunday when my son told me that he was going to the canteen we operate about 300 meters from our home. But, unfortunately, that was the last time we saw him.

He explained that “We had waited for him the entire night to return, but he didn’t. So the next morning, we reported the incident to the Police. We heard nothing concerning the police investigation until this morning when we heard that our neighbour had killed Stephen’’, the distraught father said on Sunday.

“When we went to look, he [the suspect] had butchered Stephen’s hands, his feet, and head and stored it in his fridge’’, adding that the suspect, Richard Appiah, was a friend he worked with within the construction business. The suspect was a surveyor.

He said “The young man, truth be told, is my friend. It was only four days ago that he came to my house that – I also work with him, he’s a surveyor – he came to tell me that the land he was planning to develope had sand and blocks on it and he wanted me to sell it for him, so I did’’.

“Just yesterday, the young man came to my house to tell me that if he did not get the money by evening time, he would sell it to another person. And I told him I had already sold it and that the buyer would bring the money within the day’’ he added.

“So that evening, a friend of mine and I took the money from the sales to his house and gave it to him. ¢150 million in total, and he gave us a receipt. And he came to escort us home. Never, never, never – I have heard of no such thing before, and I would have never suspected him. He used to cook and eat with my children. They were also friends,” he added.

Chief Encounter

The chief of Abesim, Barima Kumi Acheaw, also stated that the suspect Richard Appiah involved in the Abesim murder case is not mentally sound.

The chief said they are convinced due to the behaviour he exhibited in recent times, as some of the residents have also disagreed with anyone who will say the suspect is mentally challenged.

The Police on Sunday announced the arrest of a second suspect. But the chief is appealing to the IGP and the investigators to subject the suspect to psychiatric scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the IGP has directed the CID to provide technical support to the police team in the Bono Region in the investigation.

Source:dailyguidenetwork.com