A Magistrate Court at Goaso has remanded two suspected murderers into prison custody for allegedly killing a seven-year-old girl, Emmanuella Sarpomah, at Twabidi in the Asutifi South District.
The pleas of Mary Opoku, 17 and Kwasi Saabour, 47, were not taken, and they will re-appear on October 8.
Police Inspector P.K. Aborchie told the court presided over by Mr. Sidney Braimah that the complainant, Mr. Richard Kyei, is the father of the deceased.
He said on September 18 at about 0830 hours, the complainant, his wife Madam Afua Saah, and the deceased attended Church service at the Living Calvary Ministry at Twabidi.
During the service, the deceased played with another child behind the Church building, but the parents could not find her at the close of the service at about 1430 hours.
The prosecutor said Mad. Comfort Nimoh, wife of the Pastor in-charge of the church, met Madam Saah wailing and upon enquiry told the former of the difficulty in finding Sarpomah after the Church service.
Mad. Nimoh said whilst the church service was in progress she saw a lady walking away with the deceased, and mentioned Mary as the person she saw moving away with the deceased.
Police Inspector Aborchie said although Mary denied, another witness, Mad. Alice Amankwah confirmed she saw Mary and the deceased going to fetch water from a stream during the church service.
He said after further confrontation by the two witnesses, Mary admitted asking the deceased to accompany her to the stream, but asked her to return because they saw a snake on the way.
The prosecution said at 1800 hours that day, a search party was organised, but their effort did not yield any result, a report was made to the Police at Dadiesoaba and Mary was arrested.
Police Inspector Aborchie stated whilst in Police custody, Mary mentioned Saabour as the perpetrator and he was arrested.
Mary told the police that on her return from the stream with the deceased, Saabour, who was standing behind her house, called the deceased and sent her.
The two suspects were later taken to the District Police Headquarters at Goaso for further interrogation, and Mary claimed when Saabour called the deceased, she had then entered the house, and that when she returned Saabour and the deceased had left.
He said Mary alleged later that she went to a nearby cocoa farm to fetch firewood and saw Saabour “hitting the deceased several times with a club” and that Saabour invoked the powers of three gods “Antoa, Apepe and Ahantamo” to strike her dead if she informed anybody about the act.
She told the police that she was frightened; hence her refusal to tell the deceased’s parents what happened when they earlier confronted her.
Prosecution said Mary led Police to the spot where she saw Saabour committing the crime, and the body of the deceased was removed and taken to the Goaso Government Hospital for autopsy.
