A 34-year-old Mallam is in the grips of the Central Regional Police Command for allegedly murdering a 24-year-old woman at a hotel at Ofaakor in the Greater Accra Region.

Suleman Mumuni Tanko, the self-acclaimed Mallam, who was suspected to have lured the woman to the hotel under the pretext of performing some rituals for her, was arrested at his hideout at Adisadel, a suburb of Cape Coast.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Irene Oppong, Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) said the incident occurred last Thursday, November 5, at about 2 am.

She said the Ofaakor District Police received a report from the hotel that a lady named Sandra booked a room to have a meeting with her boss.

The supposed boss arrived later in a blue Hyundai saloon car but left the hotel unceremoniously without leaving the hotel room keys with the receptionist.

DSP Oppong said someone found the keys at Ofaakor Congo Villa Junction, called the manager and handed the keys to him.

She said when the room was opened, the victim was found half naked, with a cellotape on her mouth and around her legs with multiple abrasions on her neck, chest and breasts.

The Hotel manager and his team rushed the woman who was then unconscious to the 37 Military Hospital for treatment.

The police PRO said, on November 7, at about 11:30 am, the police together with the victim’s pastor, visited her at the hospital only to be informed of her demise.

She said the body of the lady, who was later identified as Anita Walters, has since been deposited at the hospital’s morgue for autopsy and preservation.

She revealed that based on police intelligence a search was conducted in Cape Coast, leading to the arrest of the suspect at his hideout on Wednesday, November 11 at about 6am.

She said the police retrieved $5,600 and $120 believed to belong to the deceased, a Hyundai Accent car, and an unregistered Toyota Camry with a registration number DV 3611C - 2020 and the shirt he wore on the day of the incident was recovered from the suspect.

She said the suspect together with the items retrieved are with the Central Regional Criminal Investigation Department while investigations continued.