Mum In Court For Beheading Baby

Berekum -- A 30-year-old unemployed woman, who allegedly beheaded her 14-month-old baby girl at Tainso, near Adamsu, in the Jaman District of Brong Ahofo Region, has been arrainged before the Berekum Circuit Court.The accused,Abena Georgina, was said to have buried the corpse of the girl at a refuse dump on the outskirts of the village.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Agnes Adonu told the crowded court, presided over by Mr P. K. Richardson, that the accused lived in the same house as her parents and her baby girl, called Adwoa Mary.She said around 9.30 a.m. on May 15, this year, Georgina's mother and other relatives went to farm leaving her and her baby in the house.

According to the prosecutor, when her mother returned home from the farm around 4 p.m., Georgina was alone in the house.She said when the mother asked Georgina about the whereabouts of her baby, she told her and the other occupants of the house that she had murdered her with a sharp cutlass and buried the body at a refuse dump on the outskirts of the village.

Chief Inspector Adonu stated that Georgina's mother, who was astonished by the behaviour of her daughter, rushed to the Adamsu Police Station, to lodge a complaint and the accused was immediately arrested.

She said upon pressure from the police, the accused led them to the place where she buried the headless body which was wrapped in a piece of cloth.According to Chief Inspector Adonu, the corpse was sent to the Berekum Holy Family Hospital for post-mortem examination.

The abnormal behaviour of Georgina aroused the suspicion of the presiding judge, who asked her mother whether Georgina had had mental problem.Georgina's mother stated that about four years ago, she became insane and she was sent to the Goka Prayer Camp for healing, where she recovered and returned home to lead a normal life. Two years after Georgina returned home, somebody impregnated her and she delivered last year.

Upon the request of the prosecution, the judge ordered that the accused should be detained in police custody and sent to the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital for medical examination.