Christopher Ekow Clarke Quansah, the first accused person in the murder of the 25-year-old Georgina Asor Botchwey, Tuesday told the Cape Coast District Court that the third accused, Jonathan Obeng, was not part of the conspiracy.
He admitted to engaging the mason, 26, to dig the grave, but said he (mason) knew nothing about the killing.
Quansah was, however, stopped by the presiding judge, when he raised his hand in court to give the information, because the trial had not started.
Quansah, wearing a striped orange Lacoste over a faded checked pair of shorts, Michael Darko, the self-styled pastor, in a plain white T-shirt and a pair of black trousers, and Obeng, stood before the judge in a pensive mood.
The plea of all three accused persons was not taken and the court, presided by Mrs Bernice Mensimah Ackon, remanded them into police custody to be re-arraigned on Tuesday, October 18.
The court premises was overwhelmed with a large crowd who wanted to catch a glimpse of the accused persons.
The prosecutor, DSP Daniel Gadzo, presented an amended charge sheet, which included Obeng, but earlier had Quansah and Darko as the only accused persons as of Thursday, September 22.
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Their charges; conspiracy to commit murder and murder, however, remained unchanged.
DSP Gadzo said the complainant, Mr Duodu, a military officer, was a brother to the deceased.
Darko, a boyfriend to the sister of the deceased, was living in Kumasi, while Quansah resided at Sikafo Ambantem at Mankessim in the Central Region.
DSP Gadzo said on Thursday, September 8, 2022, the deceased traveled from Yeji in the Bono East Region for an interview at the Ankaful Psychiatric Nursing Training School in Cape Coast as a student applicant, and called Darko to inform him of her presence in town.
He said Darko promised to pick her up after her interview on Friday, September 9. As promised, the two accused persons went to pick her up from Ankaful in a taxi to Pedu in Cape Coast.
Quansah had then parked his Benz car there, with registration number GT 8686 – C, and drove Georgina and Darko to Akwakrom, a suburb of Mankessim.
Quansah and Darko seized Georgina’s iPhone, locked her in a room and left for Sikafoambantem, a suburb of Mankessim, where they engaged Obeng to dig a grave in an uncompleted storey building belonging to Quansah.
At 0200 hours, Quansah and Darko took the lady to the uncompleted building where Quansah hit on the neck with a club from behind and Darko strangled her till she died.
They then cut her hair and buried her in the grave.
DSP Gadzo said that same day, the police in the Central Region picked intelligence, which led them to arrest Darko at Anomabo but Quansah managed to escape.
Upon interrogation, Darko admitted to the crime and said they wanted to use the deceased for money rituals.
On Wednesday, September 21, Quansah was also picked up from his hideout.
