26-year-old Gideon Kojo Asomani Addo is in the custody of the Koforidua Police for the alleged murder of his mother at Kyekyewere, a suburb of Koforidua close to Nyamekrom in the New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region.
Gideon Asomani was initially arrested for iron rod theft in the same area. Upon his arrest, he confessed to the killing and burial of his mother, Mercy Oforiwaa.
His mother, a retired staff of the Roads and Highway Authority, was declared missing on June 17, 2023, prompting the family to report her disappearance to the police and make several radio announcements.
The suspicion of iron rod theft by a neighbour ultimately led to Gideon Kojo Asomani’s arrest. Upon interrogation by the police, he confessed to the killing and burial of his mother in an uncompleted building within their vicinity.
On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, the police, accompanied by the suspect, visited the crime scene to verify the alleged burial site for the subsequent exhumation of the deceased mother’s remains to aid in the ongoing investigation.
In an interview with Citi News, the neighbour who caused his arrest said, “She has been missing for the past 6 months. When we asked about the whereabouts of her mother, he claimed she attended a funeral in Kumasi Atonsu and left her phone behind. He couldn’t tell who accompanied the mother to the funeral. We went to MTN to check the calls on her mother’s phone, and there was no call history from Kumasi.”
He became a suspect, but because he’s not our family member, we couldn’t take the matter seriously until he stole my iron rods, tiles, and was arrested. He confessed to killing her mother during interrogation. He said she died after he pushed her to the ground, and he buried her in an uncompleted building.”
A sister of the suspect expressed shock after the revelation, indicating that the family was hopeful of finding her a few days after her disappearance.
“They told us she was suffering from dementia and that she would return home. We made media announcements, we prayed and made some posters, we reported to the police, hoping she would return. I combed all the nearby villages. My brother was behaving strangely lately, and he looked innocent, so I didn’t suspect him. I realized he has taken toilet seats from the house, and he claimed he kept them in the neighbor’s house. I’m really shocked.”
