In May 2012, a chilling and tragic event shocked both Ghana and the United States when Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, a Ghanaian student, was brutally murdered and cannibalized by his Kenyan roommate, Alexander Kinyua, in Joppatown, Maryland.
Agyei-Kodie, an exchange student staying with the Kinyua family, was preparing for his deportation back to Ghana due to visa issues when the horrifying incident occurred.
Agyei-Kodie was reported missing on May 25, 2012, by Antony Kinyua, Alexander’s father and a professor at Morgan State University, where both Alexander and Agyei-Kodie had studied.
What began as a missing person case quickly escalated when Jarrod Kinyua, Alexander’s brother, discovered human remains, including a head and hands, in the family’s basement. Authorities later identified these remains as belonging to Agyei-Kodie. Alexander Kinyua was arrested shortly after, and during the investigation, he admitted to murdering Agyei-Kodie with an axe while he slept.
FLASHBACK: Ghanaian student murdered and eaten by his Kenyan roommate in the US
Kinyua also confessed to consuming parts of Agyei-Kodie’s heart and brain before disposing of the rest of his body in a nearby church’s trash bin.
This case took an even more disturbing turn when it was revealed that just days before the murder, Kinyua had been released on bail for a separate attack involving a baseball bat, an incident that left the victim partially blind.
Kinyua had also exhibited increasingly erratic behavior in the months leading up to the murder, including bizarre Facebook posts that referenced ritualistic killings and human sacrifices.
These red flags, combined with Kinyua’s violent actions, had some, including his own ROTC instructor, warning that Kinyua was “a Virginia Tech waiting to happen.”
Despite the overwhelming evidence, Kinyua was found not criminally responsible for the murder due to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
He pleaded guilty but was indefinitely committed to a Maryland psychiatric institution, where he remains.
Horror: Some of the victim’s body parts were found in a dumpster in a church parking lot, pictured
The murder of Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie left his family devastated. A longtime family friend, Percess Veronica Mattison, described the immense pain his family suffered, noting that “he was slaughtered in the most brutal, inhumane fashion.”
Agyei-Kodie’s uncle, Anthony Opoku Ware, also described his nephew’s ambitions.
“He was very much into becoming somebody in life,” Ware said.
Agyei-Kodie had faced his own legal troubles.
In 2009, he was convicted in a case involving a Morgan State graduate student who told police that he harassed her.
His student visa was revoked in March 2010 and an immigration judge ordered him to be deported, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said.
The incident also raised significant questions about mental health, the warning signs exhibited by Kinyua, and the failure to intervene before this tragedy unfolded.
In the wake of the murder, Morgan State University took steps to improve campus safety, establishing a chief public safety officer position.
The story of Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie’s untimely death remains a grim reminder of how unchecked mental health issues can lead to horrifying consequences. It also underscores the importance of early intervention and support for individuals exhibiting signs of dangerous behavior.
