Source: Africa Publicity
A High Court in Accra, the capital of Ghana, has sentenced Richard Appiah, a footballer and draughtsman, for killing two boys and storing their body parts in a fridge.
The sentence followed a unanimous verdict by a seven-member jury, which found him guilty on two counts of murder. The victims were aged 12 and 15 at the time of the crime which took place Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021.
Appiah was 28 at the time of the offence. He has been standing trial since 2024 before the court presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, with committal proceedings having begun at the District Court in 2021.
Appiah’s lawyer, Faustinus Yirilabuo, implored the jury to return a unanimous verdict of guilty but insane for his client.
While alluding that his client committed the act, he argued that Appiah did not understand or appreciate the nature and natural consequences of his actions at the time of the offence due to a mental disorder.
He cited instances where Appiah, prior to the murders, behaved strangely and suffered from schizophrenia. Counsel also referred to occasions where his client ate his own excreta and used his urine to wash his face.
