A 38-year-old man arrested for allegedly defiling his 11-year-old stepdaughter has died in police custody at the Agyeikrom Police Station under circumstances his family is calling suspicious.
Emmanuel Cudjoe was taken into custody around 5:00 a.m. on May 10, 2026.
Hours later, around 11:00 a.m., he was found dead in his cell. Police say he hanged himself using a strip torn from a blanket.
The family is demanding an independent investigation.
According to the family, Cudjoe called his elder brother around 4:00 a.m. on the day of his arrest to say he was being detained following allegations made by his girlfriend.
Their mother, Mary Dadzie, reportedly visited the station around midday but was denied access to her son.
Police alleged that Cudjoe had been sexually involved with his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter for the past two years.
Officers reportedly claimed to have a medical report supporting the accusation.
The family says they were later told Cudjoe hanged himself using part of a blanket, which he allegedly tore with his teeth before fastening it around his neck.
“We are struggling to understand the circumstances surrounding Emmanuel’s death,” his brother, Isaac Cudjoe, told Connect FM’s Omanbapa Morning Show.
“We are demanding a full investigation and justice.”
Cudjoe, a native of Anto in the Shama District of the Western Region, had relocated to Ayensudo to live with his girlfriend. The couple had a one-year-old daughter together. The woman already had two daughters, aged 8 and 11.
Relatives say the relationship was marked by constant misunderstandings and domestic disputes. The woman’s family had requested that Cudjoe’s family perform official marriage rites, and preparations had begun.
To avoid further tensions, Cudjoe had reportedly rented a separate room at Agyeikrom, intending to stay there temporarily until the rites were completed.
The Central Regional Police Command confirmed the incident, stating that officers discovered Cudjoe’s body around 11:00 a.m. suspended against the wall of his cell.
The Elmina District Police Command and the Regional Crime Scene Management Team visited the scene.
Police said there were “no visible marks of violence” on the body and that the ligature was firmly fastened around the neck.
The body was taken to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, where medical personnel officially pronounced him dead. It has since been deposited at the hospital morgue pending an autopsy.
The family has been informed, police added, and investigations are ongoing.
