Police, GNFS retrieve partly decomposed body from septic tank

A partly decomposed body of a lady suspected to have been murdered by her boyfriend at the Sunyani Magazine has been retrieved from a septic tank.

The body of the young lady had been in the septic tank for about three weeks before it was retrieved by the Bono Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in collaboration with the police last Friday evening.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Bono Regional Fire Command, Assistant Division Officer Grade I (ADOI), Kwame Adomako Antwi, told the Daily Graphic that it had been alleged that the deceased's boyfriend, Kwabena Agyei, believed to be in his early 30s, killed her on February 10, 2025.

Arrest

ADO I Antwi explained that the police had a tip-off of the alleged murder and followed up to arrest the suspect on Friday, February 28, 2025.

He said after interrogation by the police, the suspect disclosed that he dumped the body in the septic tank and it was at that point that the police called the GNFS around 5 p.m. to assist them to retrieve the body.

Retrieval

ADOI Antwi said when the rescue team retrieved the body from the concrete septic tank, filled with water, they detected that half of the deceased hair was burnt.

He explained that there was also a refuse dump on the body inside the septic tank and that personnel suspected that the suspect tried to burn the body in the septic tank to cover up his crime, but could not succeed in doing so because there was water in the tank.

He further stated that the outlet of the septic tank was small and unclear to facilitate the removal of the body, "so we had to break the concrete and open it to retrieve the body”.
ADOI Antwi said the rescue team could not examine the body because of the state of its decomposition.

“When we retrieved the body, the deceased was in a tight dress (bodycon), which helped us to hold the body together.

That actually held the body else we wouldn't have found the body because it had been in the septic tank for about three weeks.

"After retrieving the body, we handed it over to the police to continue their investigation. As we speak, I don't have further details about the deceased and the suspect," he said.

Writer's email: biiya.ali@graphic.com.gh