The High Court has begun the trial of a man accused of killing his wife in Foase Kokoben, Atwima Kwanwoma Municipality, Ashanti Region, in 2022.
Kwadwo Appiah, 42, is said to have assaulted the deceased Felicia Nti, causing her death. The proceedings resumed on Wednesday (7 February) after a two-year hiatus. Rosemarie Baah Tosu presided over the case, which was tried before a jury of seven members.
State prosecutors told the court that the suspect worked as a factory man at the Special Ice Mineral Water in Foase, and that the deceased was his wife, despite the fact that they did not live together.
The deceased had called a car to come pick her up after they had a disagreement, the court was told by the suspect on December 6, 2022, at around one in the morning.
That he witnessed the victim being picked up by a 4×4 pickup soon after she left the house, suggesting that attempts to bring her back were ineffective. He saw her abruptly fall off the car, but the occupants hauled her up without much delay.
On December 7, 2022, however, the suspect admitted to killing the deceased after repeatedly striking her against a wall.
In his caution statement, he acknowledged that he had drugged the woman and wrapped her body in a bedsheet before mopping the bloody wall with soap and water.
The suspect led the police to the scene of the crime, where they found the deceased’s partially decomposed body, which had been taken to the morgue for preservation and autopsy.
In a post-mortem report, doctors note that the deceased had severe bleeding, a fracture around his right cheek, and other physical injuries. They also characterize the incident as “unnatural death.”
After entering a not guilty plea to the murder charges, the suspect was placed under remand and ordered to return for a case management conference on March 12, 2024.
