A 38-year-old man, Emmanuel Cudjoe, who was in police custody over an alleged defilement case, has died under circumstances suspected to be suicide at the Agyei Krom Police Station in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality of the Central Region.

Police say the suspect, a carpenter and stepfather of the victim, was arrested on Sunday, May 10, 2026, at about 5:00 am for allegedly defiling his 11-year-old stepdaughter. He was being held at the station as investigations into the case continued.

According to preliminary police information, the Station Officer was later informed by the Counter NCO that the suspect had been found hanging in his cell around 11:00 am on the same day.

He is said to have used a thin piece of cloth allegedly torn from the edge of a blanket he was sleeping on.

A team from the Elmina District Police Command, together with regional crime scene investigators, was immediately dispatched to the station to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

On arrival, they reportedly found the suspect hanging against a wall, with a ligature tightly secured around his neck and no visible injuries on the body.

The body was subsequently conveyed to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, where medical personnel confirmed him dead on arrival.

It has since been deposited at the hospital’s morgue pending preservation and autopsy, while the suspect’s family has been officially notified. Police investigations into the incident are ongoing.