Dad imprisoned for murdering 2-year-old son (Nkawie, Ghana)

I choose not to reproduce photos in this blog for many reasons--partly because I want to report on crime, not sensationalize it. If you choose to go to the original source, be warned: the photo referenced below is a horror. Thank goodness dad RAYMOND MESSISA has finally been remanded into prison custody for the especially brutal murder of his 2-year-old son.

http://news.peacefmonline.com/social/201010/95138.php

Photo: Dad Strangles Son To Death

Date: 20-Oct-2010

It has now come to light that the 25-year-old teacher who allegedly murdered his 2-year-old son broke his neck, both hands and legs before dumping the lifeless body into a toilet.

A circuit court at Nkawie has remanded into prison custody, Raymond Messisa, who allegedly killed the innocent boy, Kelvin Messisa at Kunsu near Mankraso in the Ahafo Ano South District of the Ashanti region.

The court, presided over by Noble Nkrumah, remanded the suspect to re-appear on Monday, October 25, 2010. He also incarcerated the alleged killer’s father, Emmanuel Amaglar, who was apprehended by the police in the company of the accused person.

Briefing the court, the prosecutor, Inspector Mark Addo of the Mankranso District Police Command, said the accused attended St. Francis Teacher Training College at Hohoe in the Volta region.

The prosecutor noted that in the course of his three-year professional teaching course, Raymond Messisa had an amorous relationship with one Janet Abigi, a 25-year-old unemployed woman, through which they gave birth to the deceased.

The accused never took care of Janet and her son till he completed school and was posted to Kunsu to teach at the Kunsu Wiaso D/C Primary School. The prosecutor told the court that Janet, who hails from Lipke in the Volta region, pestered the accused with several phone calls that she wanted Kelvin to stay with him so that he could take care of his education.

Inspector Addo narrated that the accused never responded positively to the calls of the bereaved mother until he (the accused) called her on Wednesday and gave her directions to his new place so that she could bring his son to him

Determined to send her child to the father, Janet travelled to Kunsu. Upon arrival, the accused, who was waiting at the bus terminal, immediately took Janet and the child home.On Friday, the accused left home in the morning for school and came back around 4:00 pm to meet Janet, who complained of hunger and therefore gave her a tuber of yam and stew to prepare for meal.When Janet finished preparing the meal, she invited the accused to join her but he refused with the excuse that he was not hungry and therefore went out again and came back around 10:00 pm.When the accused returned home, Janet was sleeping in the sofa with her child but the accused woke her up, insisting that he wanted to sleep with the deceased on the bed.

Not sensing danger, the prosecutor said Janet heeded the demand of the accused and allowed him to take the deceased onto the bed whilst she continued to sleep in the sofa till it was about 5:00 am on Saturday when she realized to her utter surprise that the deceased was nowhere to be found in the room.

When she woke up and asked the whereabouts of her son, Raymond told her that he saw the child opening the gate and moving out.

When Janet started shouting at the accused because she did not understand what he was telling her, the 25-year-old teacher held her neck and threatened to kill her if she continued her action.

Noticing that something was amiss, Janet struggled out of the room and ran to the Mankraso District Police station to lodge a complaint, after which the police embarked on an intensive search.

As Janet and a team of police personnel were heading towards the home of the accused as part of the investigations, they saw the accused and his father standing by the roadside looking for a car.

Upon noticing the accused, Janet drew the attention of the police to him.The police then approached them and asked where they were heading to at that early time of the day.After a brief interrogation, the police realized that the accused had knowledge of the disappearance of the deceased and therefore apprehended him for further questioning.

As the police were getting ready to escort Raymond and his father to the station, they had information that the body of a baby had been found in a toilet by the roadside.When the police led a team to the scene and the body of the baby was retrieved, Janet, the accused and his father identified the deceased as their relative who disappeared.

According to him, when the body of the two-year-old baby was recovered from the toilet, both hands and legs had been broken as well as his neck, an indication that his killer rendered him helpless before killing him.

In his caution statement to the police, the accused admitted to committing the crime but noted that he decided to do so because Janet was pestering him with the responsibility of taking care of the child, a development which was not allowing him to study.

The prosecutor explained that the father of the accused was arrested and arraigned because the father was charged with the offence of aiding and abetting.After attentively listening to the submission of the prosecutor, the presiding judge, who appeared furious, ruled that the accused and his father be remanded in prison custody and re-appear on October 25, 2010.