Valentine day jealousy causes soldier to commit murder and suicide

Accra, Feb 22, GNA - Police on Monday said the recent murder of a 29-year-old girl and subsequent suicide by a soldier at the Castle was due to ''some Valentine disaffection between two love birds.''

On February 15 Lance Corporal Odartey Lamptey, on guard duty at the Castle, shot dead his girlfriend's friend, Agnes Duffe, 29, shot and wounded his girlfriend, Tina Dakpo, 24, and committed suicide with the same weapon.

Tina had gone with her friend to the Castle to collect a mobile phone Lamptey had seized from her (Tina) to check Valentine Day messages she would receive.

Mr Patrick Eden Timbila, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigations Department, Operations, told the GNA in an interview that Lamptey committed the act with the military weapon assigned to him.

He said Odatery found three text messages on the Tina's phone. The first text message, which was received on January 31, read, " Life is all about love, without love, life is not okay. With love you can Carte or destroy. Love is all that we need. First Carte is the deepest forever in love is joy".

The second one, received by Tina on February 5, read "My love you are very dear to my heart. I am missing you. Kisses".

The third, which landed on Valentine day, read, " Love can change anything, Adam +Eve created love, Romeo +Juliet made love. Samson+ Delilah betrayed love, Julius Caesar died for love, what would you do for love, call me".

Mr Timbilla said when Odartey's pocket was searched police found a letter from a Warrant Officer who had written to Tina's father, urging him to advise her daughter to stop flirting with men.