Achimota student ‘killer’ appeals 3-year sentence

Parents of the Achimota student who was sentenced to a 3-year jail term at the Borstal home has filed an appeal at the High court challenging the judgement of the Juvenile court.

The 17-year-old boy was jailed for allegedly shooting his friend, Lilly Asibetse to death when she visited him at his residence at Tema.

It will be recalled that trial judge, Benardine S. A. Senoo, found the accused guilty and handed down the sentence after the trial went on for seven months.

The accused is said to have gone for his father’s gun under his bed with the intention of firing into the air, but ended up killing his friend, a third-year student of Achimota School.

The facts, as narrated, were that at about 2pm on 4 January 2017, the deceased, who lived at Cantonments, visited the accused at Community 8 in Tema. While there, according to the prosecution, the accused went to his father's room and picked up his single-barrelled gun and shot the victim in the abdomen.

When questioned, the accused told the police that he had intended shooting into the air, but the bullet changed course and hit the deceased.

Gifty Billy, a neighbour, heard the gunshot and went to the scene only to see the victim lying in a pool of blood.

Ms Billy said she rushed the deceased to the Port Clinic at Tema. However, due to the condition of the victim, she was transferred to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, where she died on admission.