A former Ghanaian football player has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Accra High Court for the aggravated murder of two teenagers in the town of Abesim , in the Bono region, a case that had deeply shocked public opinion since his arrest in 2021.

The sentence was handed down by Judge Ruby Aryeetey after a seven-member jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on two counts of murder, ending a trial that began in 2022.

The accused, Richard Appiah , a former player for Okumapem FC , was found guilty of murdering Louis Agyemang Jr. , 12, and Stephen Sarpong , 15, in August 2021. The remains of the two victims were discovered at his home, one lying in a locked room and the other kept in a refrigerator , a macabre detail that attracted media attention as soon as the bodies were discovered.

During the trial, Appiah admitted to being responsible for the deaths of the two boys but pleaded insanity , claiming he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the events and did not understand the nature of his actions. This defense did not convince the court, as the prosecutor argued that the defendant's efforts to conceal the bodies demonstrated his awareness of his actions .

The life sentence reflects the gravity of the crimes and the determination of the Ghanaian justice system to punish particularly heinous homicides . The defense lawyer indicated his intention to appeal the decision in the coming days.

The case had aroused strong emotion in Ghana and in the Bono region in particular, both because of the cruelty of the acts and because of the identity of the accused, a former locally recognized sportsman.

It also raises questions about the management and assessment of mental disorders within the framework of criminal judicial proceedings.