A Footballer, Richard Appiah sentenc
Richard Appiah, the defendant in the Abesim murder trial, was given a life sentence by the High Court of Accra’s Criminal Court 1.
The former football player was found guilty of killing two children in Abesim in the Bono Region and storing the remains of one of them in a refrigerator. The sentence comes after a seven-member jury unanimously declared him guilty throughout the trial.
On Monday, February 25, 2026, prosecution and defense attorneys addressed the jury before the verdict was handed out. The case was presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, who then gave a ruling.
The case stems from the killing of two boys at Abesim in August 2021. The accused, a former footballer with Okumapem FC, was charged with the murder of 12-year-old Louis Agyemang Jr. and 15-year-old Stephen Sarpong.
According to evidence presented in court, the bodies of the victims were discovered in a locked room in the accused’s house. One of the bodies was found lying in the room, while the other was found in a refrigerator in the house.
A pathologist, testified that one of the boys died from strangulation, while the other died as a result of severe blood loss.
The accused admitted causing the deaths but raised a defence of insanity. Defence counsel argued that at the time of the killings, the accused was suffering from schizophrenia and did not understand the nature or wrongfulness of his actions.
The court was informed that he had been sent for a mental health assessment and had previously been pronounced unfit to face trial before being found fit.
However, the accused behaved with intent, according to the prosecution. State lawyers cited evidence that he tried to dispel suspicion by hiding the bodies, destroying evidence, and cooperating with search operations.
They maintained that these behaviors showed awareness and purposeful behavior.
Five witnesses were called by the prosecution. The defendant brought his father as an extra witness in his self-defense testimony.
