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Details are emerging about how the 28-year-old man, Richard Appiah of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region, lured three boys, killed them and kept their mutilated bodies in his fridge.

The dastardly act, which can pass as the work of a cannibal, was finally discovered in an unpainted house at Abesim Alaska on Saturday, thereby sending shockwaves in the country.

It is turning out that Appiah, believed to be an architect or surveyor and a footballer, was a friend to the victims who have been identified as 15-year-old Stephen Sarpong who was in JHS2, the suspect’s own 12-year-old step-brother Louis Agyemang, and a yet-to-be-identified body of another boy.

He is believed to have been cooking for the victims and showing them some affection, and through that supposed kindness, he was able to lure them and subsequently kill them in turns.

Cannibal Unmasked

The Abesim ‘cannibal’ is said to be a man who hardly smiles, and per police records, four persons are said to have gone missing in the neighbourhood where he lives.

This has led to a heightened suspicion that he could be behind the strange disappearances.

He is said to have initially denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the boy who went missing, but whose body was eventually found in the fridge in the suspect’s room.

It was a man who lives in the neighbourhood who insisted that the suspect knew the whereabouts of the small boy because he had seen the suspect and the victim together on the day the victim went missing.

It was alleged that, Appiah after the dastardly act brought out his clothing and set it on fire, probably to delete any evidence of the crime.

Two more persons have been picked up by the police over the gruesome killings and are being interrogated. Their identities have not been disclosed by the police.

Victim’s Father

The father of the last boy (Stephen Sarpong) to be killed, Yeboah Asuama, has been explaining what might have transpired between his son and the ‘cannibal,’ whom he described as his friend.

He said “the young man (suspect), truth be told, is my friend. It was only four days ago that he came to my house that – I also work with him, he is a surveyor – he came to tell me that the land he was planning on developing had sand and blocks on it and he wanted me to sell it for him, so I did.”

He said amid tears that “just yesterday, the young man came to my house to tell me that if he did not get the money by evening time, he would sell it to another person. And I told him I had already sold it and that the buyer would bring the money within the day,” adding “so that evening, a friend of mine and I took the money from the sales to his house and gave it to him.  He gave me a receipt and escorted us home.

“Never! Never! Never! Have I heard or seen such a thing before, and I would have never suspected him in this way.”

The victim’s father confirmed that “he (suspect) used to cook and eat with my children. They were also friends.

“My son told me that he was going to the canteen we operate about 300 metres from our home. But, unfortunately, that was the last time we saw him. We had waited for him to return the whole night but he did not, so the next morning, we reported the incident to the police. We heard nothing concerning the police investigation until this morning when we heard that our neighbour had killed my son.”

IGP’s Mission

The high-profile killings attracted the ire of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, who rushed to Abesim on Sunday to assess the situation himself before issuing out certain orders for the investigations to be thoroughly done.

Speaking on behalf of the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), after a visit to the crime scene by the police chief, Superintendent Kwaku Obeng said the police are committed to ensuring that a speedy investigation is carried out in the heinous crime.

According to the police spokesman, the Acting IGP was there to commiserate with traumatised members of the community, affected families and help fast-track investigation into the incident.

“As part of the process to speed up investigation, the Inspector General of Police has directed the homicide unit of the Ghana Police Service in Accra to take over the investigation and also directed that the remains of the deceased which are being kept at a private mortuary in Sunyani West Municipality be transferred to the Police Hospital mortuary in Accra for pathological examination and analysis,” he reiterated.

He explained that because the family is traumatised, the Police Administration has decided to assign two psychologists to work on the members.

“The psychologists will serve as liaison between the family, community, and the police so that they are counseled on their activities for proper investigation,” he noted.

On Monday, when DAILY GUIDE visited the Regional Police Headquarters in Sunyani, crime scene experts from the Homicide Unit in Accra had arrived and visited the crime scene for further analysis.

Earlier, the Acting IGP and his entourage visited the residence of the chief of Abesim, Barima Kumi Acheaw II and held a behind-closed-doors meeting with him over the incident.