Former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan has denied allegations that he killed a rapper in a ritual sacrifice.
Musician Castro and his girlfriend Janet Bandu are believed to have drowned on a jet-skiing holiday with the Al Ain forward at his resort in Ghana.
Their bodies were never recovered, leading the local media to speculate that Gyan killed the pair in an alleged "spiritual sacrifice".
However, the footballer's family has now issued a statement hitting out at the allegations, dubbing them "absurd" and "ludicrous".
"We have been silent while these wild allegations and rumours have been peddled in the media. We have been silent not because we are concealing anything or that we do not feel the need to fully state what, from our reckoning, had happened in Ada. We have been silent because we did not want to interfere with police investigations," said Gyan family lawyer Kissi Agyabeng.
"In our painful silence, we have been totally dismayed by the fact that the platform was provided for the peddling of these wild and ludicrous allegations and rumours against us. Those to whom the platform was provided offered no evidence whatsoever to back their statements. And indeed, the allegation of spiritual sacrifice can by no stretch of the imagination be propped up.
"Perhaps we should have come out earlier. But I have already explained why we could not.
"Now, we take the opportunity and state without the slightest doubt in our minds that we are not blameable for the disappearance of Castro and Janet Bandu. We had no hand in that occurrence. We have no moral or legal culpability whatsoever."
The Gyan family also called for a truce with the media, urging them not to add credence to the accusations.
Mark Langshaw
