Crime & Punishment of Tuesday, 12 July 2005

Source: GNA

Suspected armed robbers kill woman at Koforidua

Koforidua, July 12, GNA - Mrs Elizabeth Wiredu, a 40-year old teacher of the Okorase Methodist Junior Secondary School (JSS), was in the early hours of Tuesday shot dead in her home by suspected armed robbers at Adweso, a suburb of Koforidua.

Briefing newsmen on the incident, the Eastern Regional Police Commander ACP Reynolds K. Kwakye said a police patrol team received a distress signal about 0200 hours and moved to the place but were not able to locate the house as there were no proper street names and house numbers. The team located the place late after the robbers had left.

He said at about 0200 hours, four armed robbers, one of them masked, tried to force open the door of the deceased's house at a time she was sleeping with her husband, Mr Stephen Danquah Wiredu, a laboratory technician.

ACP Kwakye said during their attempt, one of the robbers broke a louver blade in one of the windows and fired through it. The bullet killed the deceased instantly, prompting the husband to open the door. He said the robbers then demanded money from Mr Wiredu but when he did not give them the money, they took away his mobile phone. ACP Kwakye said investigations were on going, adding that the body of the deceased had been deposited at the Koforidua Regional Hospital. According to an eyewitness who claimed to have seen the robbers earlier, he called the deceased's husband and informed him that armed men were around and so they should be on the alert.

He said the robbers pointed a gun at him through his window and he screamed but they warned him to keep quite as they were not after him, adding that he then called the police and some of his neighbours after the men had left.