Abuse trial to go forward despite death of victim
By Lauren Pack
Staff Writer
November 22, 2008
The trial of a West Chester Twp. woman accused of elder abuse will go forward, even though the alleged victim has died.
Abena Afrakomah, 57, a Ghana native, is charged with one count of assault, a fourth-degree felony, for allegedly hitting and pinching Josephine Crawford at her Middletown home. Crawford, 75, who had owned and operated Dixie Heights Beauty Shop and the Iron City Inn, died Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown. Afrakomah is not charged with causing her death.
Afrakomah is scheduled to stand trial before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth on Dec. 3.
"It should not affect the trial," said Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper, noting Crawford previously testified about the alleged crime during a preliminary hearing in Middletown Municipal Court.
Spaeth ordered a competency evaluation by a forensic psychologist. Following a hearing Sept. 18, Afrakomah was found competent to stand trial.
SOURCE: Middletown Journal
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