The High Court in Accra’s Criminal Court 1 has handed former footballer Richard Appiah a life sentence for the murder of two teenagers, Louis Agyemang, 12, and Stephen Sarpong, 15 and for storing one victim’s remains in a refrigerator.

The sentence follows a unanimous guilty verdict by a seven-member jury in the Abesim murder trial, where Appiah was found responsible for the killings of 12-year-old Louis Agyemang Jr. and 15-year-old Stephen Sarpong in the Bono Region.

The verdict was delivered on Monday, February 23, 2026, after both the prosecution and defence presented their final addresses to the jury. Justice Ruby Aryeetey, who presided over the case, then provided a summing-up before the jury reached its decision.

Court records show that the murders took place in August 2021, with the victims’ bodies later discovered in a locked room at Appiah’s residence. One body was found lying in the room, while the other had been placed inside a refrigerator.

A pathologist testified that one boy died from strangulation and the other from severe blood loss. Appiah admitted to causing the deaths but sought to defend himself on the grounds of insanity, claiming he suffered from schizophrenia at the time and did not comprehend the nature or wrongfulness of his actions.

The court heard that Appiah underwent psychiatric evaluation, and though initially declared unfit for trial, he was later deemed fit to stand.

Prosecution lawyers, however, argued that Appiah acted deliberately. They pointed to evidence showing he concealed the bodies, attempted to destroy evidence, and even participated in search efforts, actions the state said indicated calculated intent and awareness of wrongdoing.

During the trial, the prosecution called five witnesses. Appiah testified in his own defence and brought forward one witness, his father, to support his case.

His trial commenced on March 14, 2024, after the date was set at a Case Management Conference held on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, before Justice Ruby Aryeetey.

The prosecutors used several pieces of evidence in the case. These included statements the accused person gave to investigators after being officially cautioned, medical reports showing the cause of death of the victims, pictures of body parts and burnt objects, and a formal statement of the charges against the accused.

In 2023, Abesim Township in the Sunyani Municipality was in a state of grief and sorrow when the Dormaa Traditional Council announced the death of Barima Kumi Acheaw II, the town's chief on Saturday.

According to the Council, Barima Acheaw II, also the Kyidomhene (chief in charge of crowd) of the Dormaa Traditional Areal, died on September 30, 2022, after short illness.

He was 70 and reigned for 19 years and left behind a wife and six children.

Scores of mourners clad in mourning cloth, red armbands, and black headgear could not hold back their tears when Barima Atosi Ababio, the Sumankwaahene (chief in charge of health), broke the news of the death of the chief at the Abesim Palace.

“As tradition demands, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Paramount Chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area, has asked me to inform you that Barima Acheaw II went for medical treatment, but he could not return and joined his ancestors,” he stated.

The solemn gathering was greeted with grief and sorrow as the people wailed uncontrollably, amid the sporadic firing of muskets by some traditional warriors.

Describing the late chief as development-oriented, Nana Kyei Nketiah, the chief of the Adonten royal family of Abesim, later told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that Barima Acheaw II had played an instrumental role in the development of the Abesim Township and the Dormaa Traditional Area.

Nana Nketiah said the late chief reigned for 19 years between 2003 and 2022.

Key among Barima Acheaw II’s achievements, he said, were the construction of the Abesim Police Station, the Ghana National Fire Service command, the Abesim Health Clinic and a maternity block, as well as the Abesim Senior High School and a market.

Nana Nketiah said that in consultation with Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Badu II, the Abesim Divisional Council had set up a committee to oversee the successful organisation of the final funeral rites of the late chief, which were slated for March 23 to March 27, 2023.

“The best way we could appreciate the immeasurable contribution of our chief towards the development of the area was to endeavour to give him a befitting burial, as he joined his ancestors, and we were determined to do so because Barima Acheaw II had really paid his dues,” he stated.