Man, 30, Beats Lover To Death

Unable to hold back his anger after being allegedly disgraced and publicly insulted by a lover with whom he had cohabited for nearly five years, Sampson Awuti, 30, an electrician at Dormaa Ahenkro, threw caution to the wind and beat his girlfriend to death. He was said to have knocked down the victim and stamped on her with his feet many times. By the time bystanders could rush in to rescue Vida Oteng, 32, trader, she was bleeding profusely. She, however, managed to stagger to a nearby police station only for her to collapse while still in the process of lodging a complaint of assault. She was rushed to the Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Awuti was arraigned before the Dormaa Circuit Court on a provisional charge of murder on August 21, this year, and was remanded into prison custody. He is yet to enter a plea. He will re-appear before the court, presided over by Mr. Alexander Osei Tutu, on September 4. Inspector B.B. Lartey, who prosecuted the case, narrated to the court that at about 4:45pm of August 18 Vida brought a television home and phoned Awuti to rush home so he could work out the settings for her. Awuti was said to have initially given an excuse that he was busy at work and therefore could not come home as requested by Vida. Later, Awuti changed his mind and rushed home only to realize that the deceased had sent the television set to another person to do it for her. That person could not sort out the settings so Awuti ended up performing the work, and questioned Vida over why she could not just wait until he returned home. That, according to Inspector Lartey, infuriated Vida, who insulted Awuti, claiming Awuti had no rights to question her since he had failed to buy a television set for the house for the long time they had lived together. On arrival home, Awuti, who was angry over the insults the lover earlier hurled at him, warned her never to repeat that act. That, however, ignited heated exchange of insults, between them, ensuing in a fight, in which Awuti knocked down Vida and pounded her with his feet, eventually killing her. The body has been deposited at the Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital for autopsy. Soon after onlookers had separated them, Awuti was said to have rushed to the police station to lodge a complaint of assault on him by Vida; he was there when Vida arrived and collapsed, and was consequently arrested.