Driver on murder charge for killing ex-girlfriend with acid

Cape Coast, March 20, GNA - The police in Assin have arrested Kwesi Atta, a 26 year-old driver from Nkanfoa, near Cape Coast for allegedly pouring acid on his ex-girl friend, leading to her death. Mr Vincent Dedjoe, Central Regional Crime Officer, who made this known to the GNA, at Cape Coast on Monday, said Atta had already been put before a magistrate's court at Assin-Fosu on a provisional charge of murder and would be re-arraigned on Wednesday March 22. Briefing the GNA about the incident, he said Atta befriended the deceased, Akua Prabah also called Sakina, a 25 year-old trader, in 2002 and they had two daughters.

He said although not married, they lived together, but that the deceased moved to her hometown at Assin Nsuaem, because of persistent beatings from Atta, who is alleged to have sometimes stripped her naked in public.

Mr Dedjoe said Atta made attempts to prevail upon the deceased t return to him, but failed and that on March 4 this year at about 1930 hours, he went to visit the deceased and her parents.

He alleged that whiles there, Atta accused the deceased of stealing 400,000 cedis belonging to him and asked her to return it, since she had refused to come back to him, but she denied the theft.

Mr Dedjoe also alleged that Atta then threatened to "teach her a lesson", left and came back to the house later in the night, sneaked into the deceased's room and poured a liquid suspected to be acid, on her face and body while she was asleep, resulting in severe burns. According to him, she was taken to the Fosu Catholic Hospital and later referred to the Regional Hospital where she died on admission. He said their six-year-old daughter who was sleeping beside her mother also sustained some burns but she was treated and discharged at the Central Regional Hospital.

Mr Dedjoe said Atta went into hiding but was arrested three days later upon a tip-off at Assin-Nkran, about one kilometre from Nsuaem, and admitted the offence in his caution statement. A post-mortem report on the deceased indicated that she had died of severe damage to her eyeballs, neck, blood veins and head.