Defilement Suspect Dies by Suspected Suicide While in Police Custody

A 38-year-old man being held in connection with a defilement case has reportedly died by suspected suicide while in police custody at Agyei Krom in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality.

The deceased, identified as Emmanuel Cudjoe, was a carpenter and a resident of Ayensudo, a suburb of Elmina.

According to reports, he was arrested in the early hours of Sunday, May 10, 2026, over allegations that he had defiled his 11-year-old stepdaughter.

Police at the Agyei Krom station later received information from the counter non-commissioned officer that the suspect had allegedly taken his own life at around 11 a.m. the same day.

Preliminary findings indicate that he reportedly used a strip of cloth removed from the edge of a blanket he had been sleeping on to hang himself while in custody.

Following the incident, officers from the Elmina District Police Command together with the regional crime management team visited the scene to begin investigations.

Authorities reportedly found the suspect hanging against a wall, with no visible signs of physical injury apart from the cloth tied firmly around his neck.

The Crime Scene Management team processed the scene before the body was transported to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, where medical personnel confirmed him dead.

The body has since been deposited at the hospital’s morgue pending autopsy, while the deceased’s family has officially been informed of the incident.