Pathologist submits J.B.’s autopsy report

The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on the murdered legislator, J.B. Danquah-Adu, has finally submitted the autopsy report to the Accra Central District Court.

The medical officer, Dr Lawrence Edusei, has been under immense pressure from the court and police prosecutors to release the autopsy report, two years after the murder of the Member of Parliament (MP).

According to police prosecutors, the delay in the release of the autopsy report had hampered their efforts to build a solid case against Daniel Asiedu, aka Sexy Don Don, and Vincent Bosso, aka Junior Agogo, the two men linked to the murder of the MP.

The court, on two occasions, ordered Dr Edusei to release the report and also summoned him three times to appear before it for failing to obey the order.

Report submitted

At Thursday’s hearing of the case, the presiding magistrate, Ms Gloria Laryea, announced that Dr Edusei had submitted the report.

She, consequently, instructed that the report be forwarded to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.

The absence of the pathologist from the court, however, irked a Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, who was in court as a lawyer representing the interest of the NPP and the late MP.

According to Nana Obiri Boahen, Dr Edusei’s failure to honour the court summons issued on February 8, 2018 showed that he (Dr Edusei) had no regard for the Judiciary.

“He should have been in court, even if he was the President of Ghana. It is as if he just threw the report at the court,’’ he said.

Hearing continues on March 15, 2018.

Twist and turns

Mr Danquah-Adu, then MP for Abuakwa North, was murdered at his residence at Shiashie near East Legon, a suburb of Accra on February 9, 2016.

The controversy over the autopsy report has not been the only twist and turns associated with the case.

After more than a year at the district court, Asiedu and Bosso were committed to stand trial at the High Court on March 15, 2017.

Asiedu was charged with three counts of murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, while Bosso was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.

On April 18, 2017, the trial started at the Accra High Court, but on May 30, 2017 the court discharged the two, after the Attorney-General (A-G) had filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue with the prosecution.

The accused were then re-arrested and put before the district court for another committal hearing to commence.

Facts

The facts of the case, as presented by the prosecution, were that the late MP lived with his family in a one-storey house at Shiashie while Asiedu and Bosso lived at Agbogbloshie, also in Accra.

About 11:40 p.m. on February 8, 2016, the MP arrived home in his private car driven by his driver.

The driver handed over the ignition keys of the car to Mr Danquah-Adu and left for home, after which the MP retired to bed in a room located on the first floor of his house.

At 1 a.m. that same night, Asiedu and Bosso, armed with a catapult, a cutter and a sharp knife, went to the legislator’s house.

Bosso is said to have assisted Asiedu to enter the house by scaling the wall on the blind side of a security man who was fast asleep.

On entering the house, Asiedu picked a ladder and climbed onto a porch on the top floor and entered the MP’s bedroom through a window, while Mr Danquah-Adu was sleeping.

“While Asiedu was searching the room, the MP woke up and held him. There ensued a struggle, during which Asiedu stabbed the MP in the right chest above the breast. The MP consequently held the knife and Asiedu pulled it through the latter’s hand, leaving a deep cut in his palm,’’ the prosecution added.

According to the prosecution, the legislator bled profusely and fell by his bed, after which Asiedu stabbed him several times on his right chest and neck.

On realising that the MP was dying, the prosecution revealed, Asiedu left the room and took with him three iPhone smart phones.

Meanwhile, the struggle between the MP and Asiedu had drawn the attention of the security man in the house, who alerted other security men in the neighbourhood.

“Having been alerted to the impending danger, Bosso took to his heels, leaving Asiedu behind. However, Asiedu managed to descend from the top of the house and jumped over the electric fencing on the walls of the house into an adjoining house and escaped,’’ the prosecution stated.