A jury on Monday convicted former footballer Richard Appiah of murdering two boys in Abesim in the Bono Region, bringing to a close a case that shocked the nation in 2021.
Appiah, once a player for Okumapem FC, was found guilty of killing his 12-year-old stepbrother, Louis Agyemang Jr., and 15-year-old Stephen Sarpong, and has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Prosecutors said he strangled one victim and caused fatal blood loss to the other before hiding their bodies in his home.
Police discovered the remains on Aug. 20, 2021, after receiving reports from residents. Officers found one body in a locked room and another dismembered and stored in a refrigerator. Investigators later unearthed intestines believed to belong to one of the victims on a nearby cocoa farm. Two bloodstained machetes were also recovered from the scene.
During the trial, a pathologist testified that one boy died from strangulation while the other succumbed to severe bleeding. Appiah admitted to the killings but pleaded insanity, with his lawyers arguing he suffered from schizophrenia and could not appreciate the nature or wrongfulness of his actions.
Justice Ruby Aryeetey presided over the case and summed up the evidence before the jury delivered its unanimous verdict of guilty.
