Residents of Wassa Nkyirifi, a farming community in the Western Region, were shaken to their core when news broke of a horrifying crime committed by a 37-year-old farmer identified only as Augustine.
The suspect allegedly murdered his seven-year-old niece, Sandy Manu, in a chilling act of desperation to perform money rituals.
The gruesome incident came to light when Augustine reported his niece missing, but the police quickly became suspicious due to his unusual behavior and responses.
During intense questioning, Augustine broke down and confessed to the heinous crime, stating that he sought help from a spiritualist after expressing his struggles with poverty to an elderly man in the community.
According to the suspect's chilling confession, the spiritualist instructed him to bring a human head for the money ritual.
He targeted his young niece, Sandy, as the victim. After killing her, he buried her headless body in a nearby bush and concealed the head for the ritual.
The police, acting on the information provided by Augustine, exhumed the body and found the missing head in a separate location.
The community was left in shock, with a video of the body's exhumation circulating on social media.
The victim's body has been taken to the morgue, and Augustine remains in police custody, awaiting trial for his gruesome act.
The incident has left the tight-knit farming community in mourning and seeking answers to how such a tragedy could occur.