Mankessim Murder: Family of accused fight with victim’s family in court
A fight erupted between the family of Georgina Asor Botchwey, the victim and the family of the third accused in the case about the murder of a nursing student at Mankessim.
The families engaged in exchanges at the premises of the Cape Coast District Court 2.
The chaos occurred on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, when a person believed to be a relative of Jonathan Obeng, the main suspect, tried to attack a journalist who snapped a photograph of the suspect and his crying family outside the courtroom.
A relative of the deceased flared up upon hearing the incident, which led to a heated verbal exchange and in a brawl.
The bereaved family outnumbered members of Obeng’s family after sympathisers decided to support the bereaved family.
The suspect’s family decided to run for cover upon sensing danger.
It took the intervention of some members of the public present to calm tempers.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the case to November 8 to allow prosecutors more time for investigation.
Christopher Ekow Clarke Quansah, Michael Darko, a self-styled pastor, and Jonathan Obeng, a mason, are standing trial for allegedly murdering Georgina Asor Botchwey, a prospective student nurse at Mankessim.
They have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder.
However, Christopher Ekow Quansah insisted the third suspect, a mason, was innocent and was only contracted to dig a hole for the victim to be buried.
He has, therefore, asked the Cape Coast District Court to withdraw the case against the 26-year-old mason.
The prosecution disagreed. They believe the accused Jonathan Obeng equally acted with a common purpose with the first two suspects to commit the crime.
What happened to the student nurse
The student nurse, Georgina Asor Botchwey, was allegedly kidnapped, killed and secretly buried by the chief and the pastor in the chief’s house at Mankessim.
The victim, 25, is said to have gone for an interview at the Ankaful Nursing Training College when the pastor, who happens to be her sister’s boyfriend, invited her for a meeting.
After the interview, the victim set off to meet her soon‐to‐be brother‐in‐law. Little did she know a trap had been set before she arrived in Cape Coast on September 8 2022.
The self-styled pastor had conspired with the chief, who is the Tufuhene of Ekumfi Akwakrom, to kidnap and sexually assault her.
On September 9 2022, the accused persons picked the victim up in a Taxi at the Ankaful Hospital Pedu junction in Cape Coast.
They then took her to an uncompleted building belonging to the chief, where they had dug a hole in preparation for the ritual.
The chief is said to have hit the deceased with a club, and when she fell, her sister’s boyfriend dragged her by the feet while the chief held her neck till she died.
Meanwhile, news that the deceased had been missing for three weeks began to spread in town when she failed to return home after the interview.