Accused persons in Kasoa teen murder case initially wanted to kidnap victim – Detective
Detective Chief Inspector Japhet Agyemang, an investigator, says the two Kasoa teenagers who allegedly murdered an 11-year-old boy, had an initial intention of kidnapping the victim and demand ransom.
He said the ransom from the deceased parents was a fee for ritual money by one fetish priestess, but realising how difficult the kidnapping was, they decided to murder the 11-year-old boy.
Mr Agyemang was giving evidence-in-chief led by State Attorney, Nana Ama Osei.
The two teens are being held for the murder of Ishmael Mensah Abdallah on April 3, 2021, for alleged ritual purposes.
They allegedly lured the deceased into an uncomplete building and killed him with a club and cement block.
The investigator said the accused persons had been friends since 2008, while the deceased was a neighbour to the first accused person and a very good friend to the second accused person.
He said some weeks before the incident, the accused persons were watching a television programme, where the practice of how to make ritual money to become a millionaire was being shown.
He said after the programme, they picked the numbers being displayed on the screen and decided to consult.
The investigator said the first accused person called a fetish priest at Amansaman and indicated their interest, the said priest asked of his age, of which he lied that he was 18 years and the fetish priest then cut the line on him.
The accused persons called another fetish priestess at Amanase near Winneba in the Central Region, the priestess asked them to provide a human being and GH¢5000.
Mr Agyemang said the accused decided on the deceased, so somewhere on March 28, 2021, they decided to lure him to the uncompleted building, but they were not successful.
He said on April 3, 2021, the first accused person before the act convinced the deceased that the second accused person was having a video game for sale, so he should follow him to see whether he was interested.
He said the accused persons kept a bag on the floor in the uncompleted and asked him to pick the game in the bag, which they knew was empty.
He said in the progress of bending down to check on the supposed game, the first accused person hit the deceased with club, as he was struggling on the floor, second accused also picked a broken cement block and hit on his head.
The investigator said after that they used the shovel and dug a pit in the sandy and soft soil to bury the deceased with the intention of calling the fetish priestess in the evening to assist them carry the body.
He said while they were burying the deceased, the sister of the first accused person came around the scene to urinate, there the first accused confronted her and asked her to go back, and they then moved away from the spot.
The sister, who was curious and suspicious, went to the window of the building and peeped through the where she saw that her brother had dug a pit and went to inform her mother.
He said after the mother of the first accused person inspected the building and the area, she informed his father of what she had seen and when they got there, they saw blood clots on the floor but thought the first accused had killed an animal and buried it there.
The investigator said when they removed sand from the surface, they saw the hand of the deceased and further digging revealed the full body of the deceased.
He said the father of the first accused person locked the accused persons in the room, sensing danger to their lives.
Upon a call to the patrol team and on reaching the scene, the father of the first accused handed the accused person to the Police.
The defence opposed the tendering of caution statements being tendered by the prosecution through the investigator. saying it was not taken voluntarily.
The Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo adjourned the case for a mini trial to commence.
Source: GNA