Mankessim murder case: Court sets February 20 to commence expedited trial

The two men standing accused of the murder of a 25-year-old lady, Georgina Asor Botchwey, have been remanded into prison custody by the Cape Coast High Court Two.

Christopher Ekow Clark Quansah and Michael Darko, a pastor, were until Tuesday, February 13, in the custody of the police.

But the two have been remanded in the Ankaful Prison Annex by the court presided over by Justice John Mark Nuku Alifo following the completion of police investigations into the matter.

Given the heightened public interest in the case, the court has set Tuesday, February 20, to commence an accelerated full trial in earnest with an assurance to complete the same by the end of July.

Consequently, the accused persons will appear three times weekly before the court.

Meanwhile, Justice Alifo has cautioned journalists against publishing false and misleading stories on the case, mindful that he could not prevent them from carrying out their duties.

The fact of the case is that the deceased, Georgina Asor Botchwey, a resident of Yeji in the Bono East Region and an applicant seeking admission at the Ankaful Psychiatric Nursing School in the Central Region, arrived in Cape Coast on Thursday, September 8, 2022, for an interview at the school.

Upon arrival, Botchwey called Darko, her senior sister's fiancé, and informed him about her presence in the region and her mission there.

Darko then offered to pick her up after her interview at the Nursing School and later arrived in a taxi as had been arranged and sent her to Pedu Junction in Cape Coast, where Clark Quansah had parked his Benz Car with registration number GT 8686-C, which she joined.

Quansah then drove them to Akwaakrom near Mankessim, seized the deceased's iPhone and locked her in a room.

The accused persons then went to Asikafo Ambantem, a suburb of Mankessim, where they allegedly dug a hole in an uncompleted storey building belonging to Quansah and went back for the lady and sent her to Asikafo Ambantem.

On September 9, 2022, around midday, Quansah and Darko allegedly killed Georgina by hitting her head with a club. When she fell, Darko held her neck till she died.

The two allegedly took away some pubic hair of the deceased and left the uncompleted storey building around 0200 hours the next day.

A complaint was lodged by the deceased's brother, Mr Alfred Duodu, with the police after frantic efforts to reach his sister proved futile.

The police later picked up intelligence that it was Darko who picked Georgina at Ankaful.

Armed with the information, the police searched for Darko, who was arrested on Friday, September 19, at Anomabo. He admitted to the offence and led the police to where the deceased had been buried, and the body was exhumed.

Further police intelligence later led to the arrest of Quansah from his hideout at Ekumfi Akwaakrom, and he also admitted the crime, stating that they did it for money rituals.

The accused persons were first put before the Cape Coast District Court Two, presided over by Madam Bernice Mensima Ackon. They were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime to wit murder and murder.

Meanwhile, the accused persons had admitted to ritual murder during their appearances in court.