The Adabraka District Court has remanded a 32-year-old security guard, Abraham Newton Awundok, into custody over the murder of an elderly couple at Asylum Down in Accra, following a dispute over a GH¢1,500 payment.
Awundok is accused of killing Dr Jesse Amuah, 80, and his wife, Elizabeth Esi Amuah, 64, on 23 March 2026. He is said to have concealed their bodies in a septic tank at the couple’s residence and fled to Dubai shortly after.
He was arrested and deported back to Ghana in August 2026 to face trial.
According to the prosecution, Awundok, who worked with a private security firm opposite the couple’s home, got to know them in January 2026 and started helping them with household chores for pay.
The Ghana News Agency reports that the court was told that a dispute arose on 22 March, when Awundok asked Mrs Amuah for payment after finishing chores but was offered toothpaste and deodorant instead. Although he accepted the items, he kept pressing for his money, leading to a disagreement.
At about 10am the following day, Awundok returned to the house and demanded GH¢1,500 from Mrs Amuah. The two argued and he left, only to come back later and tell her that her “bad character” was the reason people did not want to work for her.
The prosecution said Mrs Amuah insulted him in response, after which Awundok picked up a pestle and struck her repeatedly on the head. Her screams brought Dr Amuah to the scene, and Awundok allegedly turned on him too, attacking him with a kitchen knife, a pestle and a piece of cement concrete. He continued to hit the couple as they lay unconscious until both died.
He reportedly fled the scene in the couple’s Nissan Sunny, registration number GT 159-X, along with their phones, cash and other valuables.
Awundok, the court further heard, returned to the house the following night, wrapped the bodies in curtains and clothing, packed them into a “Ghana Must Go” bag and dumped them in the septic tank, before sealing it with cement mortar and cleaning up bloodstains at the scene.
He later sold one of the phones to a mobile money vendor at Cantonments for GH¢700 and gave the vehicle to his sister to use for Uber and taxi operations, before fleeing to Dubai on 22 April 2026.
The couple’s family reported them missing on 30 April, after failing to reach them for about a month. Police investigations led to the discovery of the bodies and Awundok’s clothing in the septic tank. A post-mortem conducted on 7 May gave the cause of death as severe head injury and suspected assault.
Police intelligence eventually traced Awundok to his hideout in Dubai, leading to his arrest and deportation to Ghana on 30 August.
He admitted to the killings during interrogation, saying he acted out of anger over the insults from Mrs Amuah, and pleaded for forgiveness.
Awundok has been charged with two counts of murder. His plea has not yet been taken, and the case has been adjourned to 21 September 2026.
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