The Kaneshie District Court has adjourned the murder case of Edward Quartey Papafio, a 64-year-old biochemist, who was allegedly murdered by three traditional priests at Adeiso in the Eastern Region.
The court, presided over by Rosemand Dodua Agyiri, also obliged Prosecution’s prayer to remand them into prison custody.
Prosecution, led by Police Detective Inspector Lawrence Anani, said for convenience sake, the police would prefer that the accused were remanded into prison custody.
When the matter was called, he prayed the court for a date. The court, thus, adjourned the matter to November 26.
Christian Awoe Gamelie aka Power One, 40, Famous Adukonu aka Scorpion, 37, and Yaw Azamate, 27, are being held on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit, murder and murder.
The three accused have had their pleas preserved.
Meanwhile, two more suspects have been nabbed by the Police over other bodies exhumed.
The two other suspects are Oscar Modzaka and Albert Ablordeynyor. The court was unable to read out the charges to the two accused persons because there was no Ewe interpreter.
The case of the prosecution is that the complainant is Rev. Comfort Ruth Quartey Papafio, who resides in Takoradi in the Western Region.
Messrs Gamelie, Adukonu and Azamete operate their business at Adu-Kojo and Kwasi-Nyarko, all suburbs of Mame Dede in the Eastern Region.
On January 17, this year, the complainant reported her missing husband, Quartey Papafio, from his residence at Kasoa on January 15, this year at about 0733 hours.
Prosecution said on receipt of the complainant, the Police gathered intelligence that the deceased was last spotted at Mr Gameli’s shrine located at the outskirts of Adu Kojo, which led to the arrest of Messrs Gameli and Adukonu on April 21, this year.
According to the prosecution, a search conducted at Mr Gameli’s shrine revealed two pump action guns, one single barrelled gun, 11 packets of cartridges and seven other pieces of the cartridges from his room and two shovels were found hidden at the back of his house.
The prosecution said during interrogation, Messrs Gameli and Adukonu admitted shooting the deceased with the pump-action gun on January 15, this year and burying the corpse in the shrine.
He said on April 29, the two led the Police to Power One herbal/ Spiritual Centre where the Police identified the deceased’s grave in a make-shift cemetery behind Mr Gameli’s house, adding that the scene was secured and an exhumation order was obtained from the court for that purpose.
The Prosecution said on April 30, this year, a Pathologist in the company of Senior Officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters, Personnel from the Crime Scene Management Team, Forensic Science Laboratory, Drone Operation and CID/ Headquarters Operational Team with the two accused exhumed the deceased body.
He said when the grave was dug, the decomposed body of Mr Papafio was removed and it was discovered that his grave was among other graves in the accused’s cemetery, which was well fenced.
Prosecution said investigations disclosed that on December 29, Messrs Gameli, Adukonu and Azamete conspired to kill Mr Papafio, hence lured him with the assistance of one Buzanga, also a traditional priest at Kasoa, currently at Large.
The prosecution said before the murder of the deceased, the accused intentionally, made a false statement to the deceased and succeeded in collecting GH¢10,650 from him through mobile money under the pretext of conjuring GH¢400,000 for him to establish his company.
He said Mr Papafio was invited to the shrine on January 15 this year for purification and in the process Adukonu shot him with Gameli’s gun.
The Prosecution said the accused then drained quantity of Mr Papafio’s blood into a plastic gallon and hide same in the shrine while Gameli took possession of the deceased mobile phones and later buried the deceased with the assistance of Azamate and Michael who is also on the run.
The Prosecution said Messrs Gameli and Adukonu allegedly confessed to the Police that the blood in the gallon was a mixture of Papafio and another victim who was also buried among other bodies at the cemetery.
He said the gallon of blood and the body were deposited at the Police morgue for examination.
Mr Anani said the complainant later identified the two mobile phones of the deceased.
The prosecution said the Pathologist gave the cause of death of Mr Papafio as hemorrhagic shock, traumatic amputation and unnatural severe chest pain.