Charles Quansah, born in 1964 in Ghana, had a history of criminal behavior prior to his escalation to serial murder. In 1986, he was convicted of rape and served a sentence at James Fort Prison. Following his release, he reoffended in 1987, resulting in a three-year imprisonment at Nsawam Prison. In 1996, Quansah was incarcerated again, this time for robbery. After his release later that year, he relocated to Accra, where he worked as a mechanic in the Adenta neighborhood.

Between 1993 and 2000, Accra was terrorized by a series of brutal murders involving the strangulation of women. The bodies of these women, many of whom were food vendors or sex workers, were discovered in various locations across the city, often showing signs of sexual assault and mutilation. The pattern of the killings led authorities to suspect the work of a serial killer, dubbed "The Accra Strangler." ​3News

In February 2000, Quansah was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Joyce Boateng. While in custody, he was linked to the 1996 murder of Akua Serwaa, found strangled near the Kumasi Sports Stadium. Under interrogation, Quansah confessed to the murders of eight additional women in Accra. Investigations revealed that since 1993, the deaths of thirty-four women had been attributed to a serial killer.

Quansah's trial commenced on July 11, 2002, at the High Court Criminal Sessions in Accra. He was convicted of the strangulation deaths of nine women and sentenced to death by hanging. In 2003, Quansah publicly denied responsibility for the murders, claiming he had been tortured while in police custody to extract a confession.