The Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has arrested a 25-year-old fetish priest and herbalist in connection with the murder and mutilation of a 40-year-old trader in the Central Region.

The suspect is accused of killing Joyce Akua Ampongmaa, a resident of Akweley Kasoa whose body was discovered in a bush at Awutu Bentum.

During a media briefing on Tuesday, May 12, the Director-General of the CID, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, reported that police were alerted to the crime on March 10, 2026, by the Safohene of Awutu Bentum.

Responding officers found the deceased on the outskirts of town with her head and both legs severed.

Following an identification at the Police Hospital mortuary, investigations established that the victim had first visited the suspect in 2025 for a medical condition and returned to his shrine on March 4, 2026, seeking spiritual assistance for her business.

According to the CID, the suspect lured the victim into a nearby bush under the guise of gathering herbs before attacking her from behind with a cutlass.

After killing and dismembering the body, the suspect allegedly hid the torso in the bush and took other parts away.

Upon his arrest, the suspect reportedly confessed to the crime and directed investigators to Mafi Avedo in the Volta Region, where he had buried the head, and to his residence in Awutu Bentum, where he had buried the legs.

The suspect was arraigned before the Adabraka District Court on March 13, 2026, and remanded into custody.

Subsequent court-ordered exhumations and a crime scene reconstruction led to the recovery of the head, the legs, and the victim's destroyed mobile phones.

While the suspect’s shrine and residence were demolished by community members following the discovery, police managed to retrieve the body parts for autopsy.

Investigations into the matter are ongoing.