Chief suspect grabbed

Police on Friday arrested a 27-year-old man as prime suspect in the death of a couple whose bodies were found at Dogo Beach, near the old Slaughter House in Accra. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Helena Cobbinah, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview, that the suspect, whose name was being withheld, was arrested because there was a dispute over money between him and the couple, Mr Kpakpa Quartey, 33 and Ms Emelia Okai, 23.

DSP Cobbinah said that Mr Quartey had filed a writ at a community tribunal prior to his death to retrieve his money from the suspect. Hundreds of residents in the Korle Bu, Korle Gonno and Chorkor areas of Accra on Thursday morning, trooped to the Dogo Beach, to see the bizarre end to the couple, last seen on Tuesday evening around 7.00 pm.

A source close to the woman said that after they had watched television that evening, the woman gave her three-month-old baby to a relative and the couple went out to buy food to eat. Their bodies were found at the beach after three days.

Emelia’s bloated body was lying in a supine position near the tunnel that links the Korle Lagoon to the sea. Her brassier and blouse were torn and there were deep cuts in her palm, head, shoulders and waist. Her stomach had what appeared to be stab wounds and the intestines were gushing out. The skin on the lower part of her body, especially the legs, had peeled off.

Eyewitnesses said that they found Mr Quartey’s body in a prone position also with deep cuts all over the body, but the police said that his body was also in a supine position and his skin had also peeled off. The bodies have since been deposited at the Korle Bu Mortuary while investigations continue.