The Criminal Court 1 of the High Court in Accra has sentenced Richard Appiah, a former footballer, to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of two children at Abesim in the Bono Region.
The sentence follows a unanimous guilty verdict by a seven-member jury, finding Appiah responsible for the killings and for storing the remains of one victim in a refrigerator.
The verdict was delivered on Monday, February 25, 2026, after the prosecution and defence addressed the jury, followed by a summing-up by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, who presided over the case.
The case relates to the deaths of 12-year-old Louis Agyemang Jr. and 15-year-old Stephen Sarpong in August 2021. Evidence presented in court showed that both bodies were found in a locked room in Appiah’s house one lying on the floor and the other inside a refrigerator.
A pathologist testified that one boy died from strangulation, while the other succumbed to severe blood loss.
Appiah admitted to causing the deaths but pleaded insanity, with his defence counsel arguing that he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time and did not understand the nature or wrongfulness of his actions.
He had previously been declared unfit to stand trial before later being deemed fit.
The prosecution, however, argued that Appiah acted with intent and awareness, pointing to evidence that he concealed the bodies, attempted to destroy evidence, and joined search efforts to deflect suspicion.
The trial featured testimony from five prosecution witnesses. Appiah testified in his own defence and called one witness, his father.
