Jealous wife jailed for manslaughter

Accra, Dec. 12, GNA - A 32-year-old trader was on Monday found guilty and sentenced to five years' imprisonment in hard labour for manslaughter by an Accra Fast Track High Court. This was after a seven-member jury unanimously returned a verdict of guilty on Josephine Tetteh.

Josephine is said to have slapped Juliet Gyan, the deceased and hit her head against a wall during a quarrel. Juliet was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. In her last words to the Court, Josephine, a mother of two, pleaded for leniency. The Prosecution also urged the Court to be lenient as the Josephine was a first offender and a young mother of two. The Court in passing sentence indicated that it had taken into consideration the submissions of the accused and Prosecution as well as the demand for justice by the family of the deceased.

The case of Prosecution was that the Madam Juliet Gyan, the deceased and her children lived at Kotobabi, in Accra while the Josephine and her mother Christina Boaduwaa also lived in the same vicinity. Prosecution said in June 2001, Josephine alleged that her husband was flirting with one of the daughters of the deceased called Abigail. Josephine informed her mother, Christina, who went to the deceased to advise her to talk to her daughter on the alleged affair. Shortly after that, Josephine went to the house of the deceased on the same issue where a quarrel ensued between Josephine and the deceased.

In the process, Josephine slapped the deceased and hit her head against a wall. The Prosecution said the deceased left the scene and entered her room, where she was later found to be unconscious and was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.