Murderers seek spiritual protection

Three out of five alleged murderers who were accused of murdering their uncle at Sarpor, a fanning community near Akosombo Marine in the Asuogyaman District and sought spiritual protection to outwit the police and to also cover up their evil deed have however been arrested and are on remand at the Akuse Prison to reappear before the Senchi Circuit Court in December.

Chief Insp. Felicia Hlormernu told the Senchi Circuit Court presided over by Ms Barbara Doe that on October 5, this year, at about 6.30am at Nuaso near Odumase Krobo, the deceased, Fiagbor Lawer, 58, told his elder son that he was visiting his nephews, Ayitey Tetteh and Ayitey Angmor at Saryor.

The visit was to arrange for the final funeral rites of his late elder brother, Fiagbor Lawer, who died two years ago and was also the father of the nephews.

The prosecutor said when the deceased failed to return home after five days, his elder son, who is the complainant, with other family members visited Sarpor and contacted the nephews who confirmed that Fiagbor Lawer visited them on the said date but they later saw him off the same day.

Not satisfied, the complainant reported the matter to the Nuaso and Akosombo police while he caused announcements to be made on a local radio station. The Akosombo police also caused gong gong to be beaten. All these yielded no fruit.

The prosecution said on October 12, the police visited Sarpor and invited Ayitey Tetteh to assist in investigation but he did not honour the invitation.

The following day, information reached the police that Ayitey Tetteh, Ayitey Angmor and his wife Awusayo Angmor, sensing danger had gone to a fetish priest at Pimpimso, near Begoro in the Fanteakwa District to seek spiritual protection. They were quickly arrested and escorted back to Akosombo.

Chief Insp. Hlormernu said it was later revealed that since the death of the father of Ayitey Tetteh and Ayitey Angmor, Fiagbor Lawer had never visited them. It was also alleged that since the death of their father, there had been so many mysterious deaths in the family which they attributed to Fiagbor Lawer. When the deceased visited his nephews at Sarpor, he was warmly welcomed and encouraged to stay for five days.

On October 10, when they were seeing off Fiagbor Lawer, the five accused persons, Ayitey Tetteh, Ayitey Angmor, Awusayo Angmor, Felix Teye and Stephen Odonkor conspired to kill him.

She said on their way, Ayitey Tetteh and Ayitey Angmor told the deceased that when their father died they buried him in the bush, so they would like to show him where he was buried. The deceased not knowing that it was a plot to kill him followed them as they armed themselves with guns and cutlasses.

The prosecutor said that on reaching a hilly portion of the forest about five miles away from the farm of Stephen Odonkor, they shot and butchered him. They later removed his clothes and pushed him under a very thick grass near a big rock.

On October 17, 2007, Ayitey Tetteh and Stephen Donkor led the police to the hilly side of the forest where the highly decomposed body of the deceased was found.