Woman who fatally hit man with crate sentenced to 10 years in prison

A 40-year-old trader, Veronica Djoazaa, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter after a jury found her guilty of causing the death of a public servant by striking his head with an empty crate.

At the end of the trial, the verdict was delivered by a seven-member jury at the High Court, presided over by Justice Marie-Louise Simmons.

The incident occurred on October 2, 2021, at Zenu in Ashaiman. The victim, 48-year-old Anthony Apurum, a public servant, had visited a drinking spot operated by Djoazaa.

According to the prosecution, while Apurum was drinking a bottle of Guinness, a misunderstanding ensued between him and Djoazaa. In the heat of the argument, Djoazaa picked up an empty Coca-Cola crate and threw it at Apurum, striking his head.

The impact caused severe head injuries, leading to profuse bleeding. Apurum subsequently reported the incident to the police and was issued a medical form to seek treatment. He received medical attention the same day and was discharged.

However, his condition worsened on October 8, 2021. He was rushed to the Tema General Hospital, where he was admitted for further treatment but later succumbed to his injuries.

A postmortem conducted on December 12, 2021, by Dr. Eric Dumfeh, a pathologist at Tema General Hospital, confirmed that Apurum’s cause of death was blunt head trauma, classifying it as an unnatural death.

Following the findings, Djoazaa was arrested the same day. During investigations, she led the police to the crime scene, where the empty crate used in the attack was retrieved as evidence.

After a full trial, the jury found Djoazaa guilty of manslaughter, leading to her sentencing.

By: Linda Akite