The High Court in Accra has fixed February 24, 2026, for the Jury to decide the fate of Richard Appiah, who is standing trial for allegedly killing two minors and keeping the dismembered body parts of one of them in a refrigerator at Abesim near Sunyani.
This follows the closure of Appiah’s defence. The 28-year-old draughtsman and footballer had testified personally and called his father and a psychiatrist as witnesses.
Appiah faces two counts of murder and has pleaded not guilty, while the prosecution paraded six witnesses, including the parents of the victims, to prove their case.
Following the conclusion of cross-examination of prosecution witnesses by the defence, the court ruled that there is a case for the accused to answer.
On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, Appiah called a police psychiatrist who examined his mental health when he was initially arrested. His lawyers, led by Faustinus Yirilabuo, are pursuing a defence of insanity, arguing that the accused was not mentally stable at the time of the incident.
The prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Adinkra, began calling witnesses on May 26, 2025. Appiah allegedly killed two minors, Louis Agyemang, 12, and Stephen Sarpong, 15.
The prosecution relied on documents listed in the summary of evidence attached to the bill of indictment filed on May 31, 2023. These included investigation cautioned statements of the accused dated August 21, 2021, further investigation cautioned statements dated August 23 and September 10, 2021, and the autopsy reports of Stephen Sarpong and Louis Agyemang Jnr. dated December 16, 2022, and May 25, 2023, respectively.
Additional evidence presented included photographs of the deceased, partially burnt clothes, slippers, photographs of the clothes of Stephen Sarpong, and images of a double-door fridge containing the body parts of Stephen Sarpong. A charge statement of the accused dated November 10, 2022, was also relied upon.
Trial Judge Justice Ruby Aryeetey has directed both prosecution and defence to file their closing written submissions simultaneously on February 20, 2026.
The case will be recalled on February 24, 2026, for the parties to address the Jury orally.
The Court will then sum up the trial, after which the seven-member Jury will retire, deliberate, and return a binding verdict.
