The Cape Coast High Court II has set Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to constitute a jury to sit on the murder case of a 25-year-old prospective nurse, Georgina Asor Botchwey at Mankessim in September 2022.
The court, presided over by Justice John Mark Nuku Alifo, made the decision at the case management conference held in chambers on Thursday, at which all parties were present.
Present at the conference were Principal State Attorney, Vincent Nyineku and Madam Monica Geraldo-Delima, the Assistant State Attorney for the prosecution, Mr Daniel Amosa holding brief for Michael Monney, for Christopher Ekow Clark Quansah, who is the first accused and Mr Roland Hamilton, for Michael Darko, the second accused.
The two accused persons, Quansah, alias Nana Clark, 65-year-old trader and Darko, 48-year-old pastor, were also present.
The court agreed that the pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the deceased would be in Court to present his report, while the prosecution was also expected to engage Akan language interpreters.
The case has been adjourned to Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Quansah and Darko are standing trial for allegedly murdering Asor in cold blood at Mankessim.
They pleaded not guilty to the offences of conspiracy to commit murder and murder when they appeared before the Cape Coast High Court II on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
They also pleaded not guilty to three charges of unlawfully possessing explosives, firearms and ammunition.
The court shot down an application by counsel to admit them to bail.
The judge directed the prosecution to file all disclosures and witness statements and serve same on the lawyers of the accused within two weeks to ensure an expedited trial.
The facts of the case are 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 who was 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 Quansah had parked his Benz Car with registration number GT 8686-C, and she joined them.
Quansah then drove them to Akwaakrom near Mankessim, seized the deceased’s iPhone and locked her in a room.
The accused persons 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.
On September 9, 2022, around mid-day, Quansah and Darko allegedly killed Georgina by hitting her head with a club and 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 0200hours the next day.
A complaint was lodged with the police by the deceased’s brother, Alfred Duodu, a soldier, after frantic efforts made to reach his sister proved futile.
The police later picked up an 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 and he admitted to the crime.
He subsequently led the police to where the deceased had been buried and the body was exhumed.
Further police intelligence led to the arrest of Quansah from his hideout at Ekumfi Akwaakrom.
The accused persons were first put before the Cape Coast District Court II, presided over by Madam Bernice Mensima Ackon, and were charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit murder and murder.
GNA
Related
