Court refers suspect who allegedly killed father for psychiatric evaluation
A District Court in Tema has ordered a psychiatric assessment for the 21-year-old woman, Daniella Nyarkoh, who allegedly stabbed her 70-year-old father to death.
This is to enable the court ascertain whether or not the suspect was mentally fit to stand trial.
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The suspect has been slapped with a provisional charge of murder but her plea was not taken by the court presided over by Justice Joseph Mc'Arthur.
Police Prosecutor, Inspector Emmanuel Mensah on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 moved the application before the court for the suspect to be referred to the Pantang Hospital for medical assessment, detention, and treatment.
Counsel for the suspect, Mr James Enu told the court that stories surrounding the incident warranted a psychiatric assessment and thus supported the application of the prosecution.
The case has been adjourned to June 15, 2021.
Specifics
The suspect, a senior high school graduate, is said to have stabbed her father, Mr Alex Nyarkoh, who while he was in bed.
The incident happened last Sunday, May 30, at Tema Community 2.
The incident was reported to the Community 2 police by the suspect’s brother.
When the police proceeded to the scene, they found the deceased lying in a pool of blood.
An inspection of the body conducted by the police revealed multiple fresh wounds on the head and the throat.
Two kitchen knives were also retrieved at the crime scene.
Strange behaviour
According to the police, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had exhibited a strange behaviour over the past week and was sent to a prayer camp at Tema New Town on Saturday, May 29.2021
The parents were however advised to send the suspect to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
However, the following day, Sunday, May 30, 2021 the suspect started behaving strangely again and rushed to the store room to pick two knives and subsequently stabbed her father to death while he was in bed.