Crime & Punishment of Friday, 17 February 2023

Source: GNA

Mankessim murder: Police conclude investigations, await advice from AG’s Office

The two suspects and the deceased (in the middle) The two suspects and the deceased (in the middle)

The Ghana Police Service has completed investigations into the killing of Georgina Asor Botwe, a 25-year-old prospective student nurse at Mankessim, awaiting further directive from the Attorney General’s Office, where the docket has been sent.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Daniel Gadzo, the prosecutor, updated the Cape Coast District Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Mr Eric Oheneba Antwi Boaisiako, who sat in for Bernice Mensima Ackon, now on vacation.

The court, upon the update, adjourned the case for the seventh time to Tuesday, February 28, 2023, and told the Office of the Attorney General to speed up the process for the necessary actions to be taken.

Christopher Clarke Quansah, the first accused, raised his hands to speak but was denied permission by the court.

Pleas of Quansah and Michael Darko, a self-styled pastor, are yet to be taken by the court.

On Thursday, September 8, 2022, the deceased, Ms Botwe, who had come from Yeji in the Bono East Region for an interview at the Ankaful Nursing Training School in Cape Coast, as a student applicant, called Darko, who was her sister’s boyfriend to inform him of her presence in town. 

Darko promised to pick her up after the interview on Friday, September 9, 2022.

Prosecutor said the two accused persons went to pick up the deceased from Ankaful in a Taxicab to Pedu in Cape Coast, where Quansah had parked his Benz saloon car, with registration number GT 8686 – C and drove her to Akwakrom, a suburb of Mankessim. 

Quansah and Darko then took her iPhone, locked her in a room and left for Sikafoambantem, a suburb of Mankessim, where they dug a hole in an uncompleted-storey building. 

They later took the lady there and Quansah hit her neck with a club from behind while Darko held her neck till she died. They then cut her hair and buried her in the hole. 

The Central Regional Police Command picked intelligence, which led to the arrest of Darko at Anomabo but Quansah managed to escape. 

On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, Quansah was also picked up from his hideout upon a tip-off.

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