Information gleaned from a reliable source within the Police Service indicates that the man who dug the grave where the Mankessim murdered person – Georgina Asor Botchway – was buried until her exhumation by the police, has been arrested and assisting with investigations.
According to the source, the suspect, whose name is being withheld, claimed he was contracted by Christopher Ekow Clarke, Tufuhene of Akwakrom, to dig a hole for him and that he did not know they were going to burry a human being there.
The Chronicle also gathered that a nonagenarian spiritualist (woman), who was named by the suspects, have been approached by the police but they did not find any incriminatory evidence at her shrine. Though she is considered a suspect, she was not arrested because of her age.
It is being alleged that the suspects – Christopher Ekow Clarkeand Michael Darko, alias Nana 1 –deceived Georgina Asor Botchway that they would help her travel abroad.
When the young lady finally went to them, they reportedly gave her drink, laced with sedatives, tied her mouth with cloth, after which she was allegedly hit with a stick and she died.
The police source further alleged that the modus operandi of the suspects, Michael Darko, alias Nana 1 and Christopher Ekow Clarke include luring, sedating and killing their victims with a stick or shooting them.
The Chronicle was again told that two locally manufactured pistols, five live ammunition, gunpowder, two syringes, five needles and nine passports, three belonging to the pastor, had been retrieved from the suspects.
Again, for all three persons who the suspects confessed to have had killed, it was only Georgina who was buried. The rest of the bodies were dumped by the roadside.
The second alleged murdered person, Grace Ansah-Akrofi’s mortal remains was deposited by the suspects by the roadside and because she was not from the area, residents could not help the police to identify the body, until the recent incident that made the suspects confirm having a hand in her death.
The third alleged murdered person, which the police are still searching for the body, is a male and a teacher, who had gone missing for almost a year now.
The paper’s sources said the family of the teacher had not made a formal report to the police because after he was lured to Mankessim under the pretext that they will aid him to travel abroad, the suspects compelled him to send a voice to his wife that he was out of the jurisdiction.
The voice note was reportedly retrieved from the suspects’ mobile phone and the wife of the deceased had also confirmed to the police receiving such information when she was contacted.
Regrettably, she still does not know what has actually happened to her husband.It was said that the pastor was the one who drove the car and the chief was the one who dragged the teacher’s body and dumped it at the roadside.
However, it is yet to be established whether the chief went back to the location to pick up the body and deposited it elsewhere, since nothing has been found at the spot.The suspects were alleged to have said they used the deceased for money rituals.
Police statement
Meanwhile, the police have issued a statement in connection with the second murder victim – Gloria Yeboah.
According to the statement, signed by Chief Superintendent of Police, Grace Ansah-Akrofi, the suspects lured the deceased to Accra on June 17th, 2022 and took her to Mankessim, under the pretext of preparing her to travel to Holland.
However, it said her dream of traveling abroad was short lived, as the suspects subjected her to a gruesome murder, adding “the body of the deceased has been found and Police have been able to locate her family, who had identified her as Gloria Yeboah.”
It added that the police are providing the necessary support to the family in these difficult times, whilst it has also followed a lead on another victim who might have been murdered by the suspects.
“Investigations so far point to the fact that the suspects are involved in ritual murders. They lure their victims, sometimes under the pretext of helping them to travel abroad and then kill them.
“We, therefore, urge any member of the public who have dealt with the suspects or know someone who has ever dealt with them to contact the police on 0243809991 to assist the investigation. We would like the public to note that this is a temporary number dedicated only to this investigation.”
