The Police at Amoagya, near Tarkwa in the Western Region, at the weekend exhumed the body of a 25-year old pregnant woman, Akua Felicia, who was allegedly murdered for ritual purposes. Her body was said to have been drained, all her teeth and ribs removed and her jaws broken. The victim was three months pregnant.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the case and placed in police custody at Tarkwa. Police sources told the Times that the decomposed body was found buried in the cocoa farm of Yaw Apae, one of the accused.

The deceased, sources said, was living with her husband, Kwaku Emmanuel, who on March 1 travelled to his hometwon for a funeral at his hometown, Japekrom Mpasu.

The following day, Kwaku Atta, another accused, was said to have colluded with the other accomplices to abduct the woman and murder her ostensibly for ritual purposes. "They broke the jaws, removed all the teeth and ribs, drained the blood and buried the body in the farm."

They after that created the impression that the deceased had travelled to her hometown. The husband and the family of the deceased after fruitless search for her reported the matter to Amoagya police who, with the help of the inhabitants, discovered the body.

When Yaw Apae was interrogated, he admitted the crime and mentioned his accomplices.