Man Kills And Buries Wife

Sodzedo Akpaliga, a man about 50 years old, is being held by the Police at Aflao on suspicion of murdering his wife and secretly burying the body. Police on Tuesday exhumed a decomposed body believed to be that of the victim, about 35 meters away from the suspect�s house at Aletame, near Denu. The victim, aged about 55, was named as Soloame Samey, a native of Adafienu. A large crowed of people, including the deceased�s relatives trailing the Police, held their noses against the stench of the decomposed body as it was pulled out of the shallow grave, cursing and demanding Akpaliga to be released to them for lynching. Mr Emmanuel Odonkor, Aflao District Police Commander told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the victim and the suspect had been in a relationship about three years now. He said on February 7, this year, Samey informed her family that she was visiting Akpaliga at Aletame, but two days after, Akpaliga came to the family at Adafienu to complain he had not seen Samey for the past three weeks. Mr Odonkor said the family followed up to Akpaliga�s house and met his (Akpaliga) son, who told them Samey had been with his father the previous three days, and even washed his (Akpaliga) clothes. He said the family then became suspicious and pressurized Akpaliga to be truthful about the whereabouts of Samey but he (Akpaliga) insisted he had no idea where she might be. Mr Donkor said Akpaliga reported to the Police later that on February 9th, this year, he (Akpaliga) asked Samey to go ahead and wait for him at Denu junction, where he (Akpaliga) would join her for the two to attend a Yewe cult meeting at Adafienu, and that he (Akpaliga) did not meet her there and had since not seen her. He said the family of Samey also lodged a report on February 18, this year, about their missing relative, leading to the arrest of Akpaliga. Mr Odonkor said a search party comprising the Police and some family members on Tuesday February 21st saw a heap of sand covered with coconut branches, suggesting the place might have been dug recently. He said flies hovering around further intrigued the search party and an examination of the place led to the discovery of the body and subsequent exhumation. Mr Odonkor said the body had been deposited at the Ketu-South District Hospital at Aflao awaiting autopsy and further examination. Meanwhile, some people among the crowd at the scene told the GNA that Akpaliga�s first wife had gone missing several years ago under similar circumstance and had since not been found. They also alleged that Akpaliga chopped off two fingers of one his sons with a cutlass sometime ago. A neighbour said in December last year he reported Akpaliga to the Police for threatening to kill his sister, but no action was taken by the security and that the said sister had since vacated their family house.