The man, who was arrested for allegedly killing three people and keeping the dismembered bodies in a refrigerator, has said he only eats fried rice with chicken.
Richard Appiah, 28, sent shockwaves across the country in August, when he was caught keeping human body parts in a refrigerator in his room at Alaska, a suburb of Abesim near Sunyani in the Bono Region.
A source has told Daily Guide that since coming into police custody, suspect Appiah has only insisted on eating fried rice with chicken and will eat nothing else apart from the popular food.
He is said to be giving some information about what might have motivated him to perpetuate the heinous crimes, and reportedly told investigators that he started killing dogs before switching to the killing of human beings.
According to the police, he killed at least two boys aged between 13 and 15.
Their names were given as Louis Agyemang, believed to be a family member of the suspect, and Stephen Sarpong, 15, whose body was dismembered by the accused person.
Spiritual Alibi
Suspect Appiah told his interrogators that something urged him to kill a black dog, which he did.
He informed the police he only ate the head of the dog after killing it, and the source said “there is evidence to show that he really killed a black dog first before he turned to the people he killed.”
“That ‘something’ he is claiming influenced him to commit the heinous crimes, we do not know. The police do not dwell on spirits to do investigation.”
According to the source, one week after killing the dog, “he told the interrogators that the so-called ‘something’ urged him again to kill human beings and that was exactly what he did.”
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Psychiatric Issue
The source said suspect Appiah does not appear to be mentally sound, a claim many people do not support.
“There is evidence to show that Richard Appiah had psychological problem, saying some time ago he visited the hospital for psychiatry examination,” the source said, adding “there was evidence that he was taken to the hospital. If you like, you can check the hospital here in Sunyani to verify.”
According to the source, the police have requested for psychiatric evaluation for the suspect, and it was being done at the Psychiatry Hospital in Accra, as part of the investigation.
No Collaborators
The source refuted rumours going around in Sunyani that the suspect mentioned his collaborators during investigations as including politicians, owners of hotels and chop bar operators, both in Sunyani and Berekum.
“It is a lie. You see when the news broke it was even mentioned that Richard owed fleet of cars and mansions.
“Look, the storey building opposite the crime scene is for somebody who is domiciled abroad and not even in the country. Richard Appiah does not even owe a motorbike let alone cars,” the source noted.
No Cover-Up
The source further refuted allegations that because the police administration wanted to conceal evidence, they transferred the suspect to Accra.
“The police administration has procedures in dealing with crime. The IGP as the head decides to do whatever he thinks is best with investigation in any part of the country. The transfer was purely an administrative decision aimed at ensuring investigations are done expeditiously.
“The IGP or the regional commanders can decide where investigations into a case can take place and that is not to hide anything from the public,” the source pointed out.
Body Parts
According to the source, the forensic investigations being carried out by pathologists indicated that all parts of the disfigured bodies were intact except their genitals which were missing.
The suspect, the source said, accepted that he put the genitals into a water closet and flushed everything.
“That was why the police had to draw water from the septic tanks at the crime scene in order to check for the information he gave out during interrogation.”
Victims Burial
There appeared to be some kind of stalemate between the police and the families of the victims over the burial of the deceased.
Louis Agyeman was buried last weekend but the family of George Sarpong initially did not want to take the body in protest for the slow pace of investigations into the matter.
However, Daily Guide understands that the family has now decided to collect the body from the police and bury him over the coming weekend.
Court Process
Back in Accra, the case of Appiah was adjourned to October 25.
The case had been rescheduled for October 5, but had to be adjourned because the magistrate hearing the matter had taken her leave.
The police at the last court sitting had indicated to the court that they were awaiting the results of an autopsy conducted on the mortal remains of the two children found in the room of the accused person.
Chief Inspector Lawrence Anane told the court that once they received the autopsy report, they will conclude their investigations and forward a duplicate docket to Office of the Attorney General for advice.
Gruesome Murder
Richard Appiah, believed to be an architect or surveyor and a footballer, was said to be a friend to the victims.
He was said to have initially denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Louis Agyemang, the boy who went missing, and it was a man who lives in the neighbourhood who insisted that the suspect knew the whereabouts of Louis 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.
Discovered Intestines
The police later discovered the intestines of the victims buried on a cocoa farm.
A police statement signed by ACP Kwesi Ofori, acting Director-General, Public Affairs, of the Ghana Police Service said “the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters team investigating the Abesim murder case has yesterday, Tuesday, August 24, 2021, discovered a place where suspect Richard Appiah buried the intestines of one of the murder victims.”
The statement said further how the police also found a sharp cutlass used in the murder, as well as where the body parts were buried.
“The intestines were buried on a cocoa farm at Abesim, which the police have since exhumed for pathological analysis and forensic examination in Accra,” the statement pointed out.
“The investigation team has also worked around a septic tank and other places of concern for further examinations,” the statement said.