The Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department has arrested a 25-year-old fetish priest and herbalist following the murder and mutilation of Joyce Akua Ampomaa, a 40-year-old trader from Akweley, Kasoa.
The case began on March 10, 2026, when the Asafoatse of Awutu Bentum informed the Jei Krodua Police Station that the body of an adult female had been discovered in a bush on the outskirts of town.
Details of the case were given at a pres briefing addressed by the Director of Police CID, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor.
According to Madam Donkor, upon arriving at the scene, police officers found the remains with the head and both legs severed. The body was subsequently transported to the Police Hospital Mortuary for an autopsy and preservation, where it was officially identified as that of Joyce Akua Ampomaa.
Investigations revealed that the deceased had been in relationship with the suspect, having sought herbal treatment from him in 2025 for a swollen leg.
On March 4, 2026, she visited the suspect again, this time seeking spiritual assistance to protect her business.
During consultations at the suspect’s shrine, he allegedly lured her into a nearby bush under the pretext of gathering herbs. Once in the bush, the suspect attacked her from behind with a machete, killed her, and dismembered her body.
He then allegedly concealed the torso in the bush and took the severed parts away for burial in separate locations.
Following his arrest and interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and detailed where he had hidden the missing body parts.
He disclosed that he had buried the victim’s head at Mafi Avedo in the Volta Region and her legs at his own residence in Awutu Bentum.
On March 13, 2026, he was arraigned before the Adabraka District Court and remanded into police custody.
The court subsequently gave an exhumation order, allowing the police to legally retrieve the remains.
On March 17, the suspect led officers to the site in the Volta Region, where the head was successfully exhumed and taken to the Police Hospital Mortuary.
COP Donkor stated further that investigations continued on March 18, 2026, as the suspect led police back to the crime scene at a cassava farm near Awutu Bentum for a reconstruction of the murder.
He identified the exact locations where the attack occurred, where the torso was deposited, and a pit where he had buried bloodstained items. Police noted disturbed vegetation consistent with his account.
The suspect then directed officers to his residence, located opposite the Chief’s Palace, where a pathologist exhumed the victim’s legs.
Additionally, police retrieved the victim’s destroyed mobile phones from a nearby bush and a latrine.
Although the suspect’s residence and shrine had been demolished by community members following the incident, hindering the recovery of the murder weapon, all body parts have been secured for forensic analysis.
