Accra, in the late 1990s, was a city that never slept. Dansoman and Mataheko bustled with night traders calling out prices, and trotro horns blaring into the humid air.

But as dusk gave way to darkness, fear quietly took over. Women began disappearing, and when they were found, the scenes were horrifying.

Their bodies were discovered naked, some with condoms around them, and others with mutilated genitals.

The killings sent shockwaves across the capital, sparking panic and outrage as police struggled to identify who was behind the gruesome crimes.

Investigations eventually led to one of them, known as Charles “Papa” Kwabena Ebo Quansah, a mechanic based in Accra. Born in 1964, Quansah already had a long criminal history, including convictions for rape and robbery.

Records revealed that he served sentences at James Fort, Nsawam, and Kumasi prisons between 1986 and 1996, but each time he was released, he returned to crime.

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His arrest came after the murder of his girlfriend, Joyce Boateng, in Kumasi. She had been strangled in a manner identical to the victims in Accra.

Under interrogation, Quansah confessed to killing nine of the 34 women whose deaths had terrorised the city. Police linked him to several crime scenes, and a blood-stained T-shirt became a key piece of evidence.

On June 11, 2002, Quansah’s trial began at the Accra High Court. After weeks of chilling testimonies, he was found guilty in August 2002 of murdering nine women and was sentenced to death by hanging.

The case drew international attention, with reports that even the US FBI assisted Ghanaian investigators.

But Quansah maintained his innocence.

He claimed police had tortured him into confessing and appealed his conviction twice that same year, but both attempts failed. In 2005, The Enquirer newspaper reported that Quansah had broken down in prison, insisting he was framed.

Today, over two decades later, Charles “Papa” Ebo Quansah remains at Nsawam Prison, serving a life sentence.

Listen to a narration of his full story below:



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