PHOTO: Mother, son grabbed for murder

• Posted on May 30, 2014May 30, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A 59-year-old woman and her son have been arrested by the police for brutally beating a co­­-tenant to death.

The suspects, Martha Akoto and her sons: Ernest Akoto, 24 and Dennis Asumani Akoto – currently at large – allegedly assaulted the victim over the weekend.

Dennis, however, managed to escape arrest but the police apprehended Madam Martha Akoto and Ernest Akoto.

The two are currently in the custody of the Dansoman District Police Command assisting in investigations.

Briefing DAILY GUIDE, Superintendent Felix Apedo, the Dansoman District Police Commander, said the incident occurred on Saturday, May 24, 2014 at Flamingo, a suburb of Dansoman, Accra.

Madam Martha Akoto lives in the same compound house with the deceased, identified as Comfort Tetteh, 45.

On Saturday morning, the two women were allegedly engaged in a fierce fight while the children were away.

Later in the afternoon when Dennis Asumani Akoto, the elder son, arrived and heard of the news, he got infuriated and brutally assaulted Comfort Tetteh for fighting with his mother.

Not long after he had left the house, Ernest Akoto, the younger son of Martha, also arrived.

When he was also told of what had transpired, he and the mother went to the apartment of the victim and assaulted her.

While beating her, Dennis arrived and joined the others. The suspects allegedly stripped the deceased naked. Dennis was said to have used a cane to whip her.

The District Commander said an old land lady, who was in the house, shouted for help.

By the time some neighbours rushed to the scene to separate them, blood was oozing from the mouth and nostrils of Madam Comfort Tetteh who was lying on the floor.

She was rushed to a nearby clinic for medical attention but was discharged the same day.

The following day, her condition deteriorated and her relatives were informed about the incident.

Martha subsequently gave an amount of GH¢15 to one of the relatives to buy some medicine for the victim.

On Tuesday, May 27, 2014, the victim complained of pains in the chest, face and ribs but she was allowed to rest for some time after taking some pain killers.

Around 3:00 pm same day, Madam Comfort Tetteh was found dead on her bed.

Neighbours, who claimed the victim died as a result of the severe beatings she received from Madam Martha and her two children, besieged the house in an attempt to lynch them, but the Mamprobi Police heard of the news and came to the area. Dennis Asumani Akoto, an electrician by profession, bolted upon seeing the police but his mother and the younger brother, Ernest were apprehended.

Superintendent Apedo said the suspects had been provisionally charged with murder, adding that the police were awaiting the autopsy report to determine the real cause of death.

By Linda Tenyah