Kirinyaga man strangles wife to death in row over food
A crime scene. A man strangled his wife to death in Rukanga village, Kirinyaga County, after the woman failed to serve him food on June 2, 2019. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Rukanga village residents say the man arrived at home while drunk and demanded to be served food.
- The suspect was later arrested as he attempted to escape on a hired vehicle.
- Ms Wanjiku described the suspect as violent when he is drunk.
Residents of Rukanga village in Kirinyaga County are reeling in shock after a man strangled his wife to death on Sunday.
Ms Virginia Wambui, 38, died on the spot during the 1am attack. According to the residents, the man arrived at home while drunk and demanded to be served food.
STRANGLE
However, Ms Wambui is said to have hesitated, forcing the assailant to pounce on her. The husband allegedly used a lesso to strangle the victim as the family members watched in disbelief.
The suspect was later arrested as he attempted to hire a vehicle to take Ms Wambui's body to the mortuary.
“After killing his wife, the suspect asked a neighbour if he could hire his vehicle to take the body to the mortuary. But the neighbour chickened out and reported the matter to the police, leading to his arrest,” said Mr Nicholas Ngari.
DASHED OUT
A relative, Ms Anne Wanjiku said the assailant covered the body with a blanket after committing the heinous act.
“After covering his wife’s body, he dashed out of the house to hire a vehicle,” said Ms Wanjiku.
Ms Wanjiku described the suspect as violent when he is drunk.
“Prior to the fatal attack, he used to beat his wife quite often over trivial issues,” Ms Wanjiku added.
BROKE ARM
Residents said they rushed to the scene to answer to the woman’s distress calls only to find that she had already died.
“We are shocked by what has transpired in this village, we are asking the police to get to the bottom of the matter,” said another resident.
Mwea-West police boss Stephen Wenda said the assailant broke the victim’s hand before killing her.
“The suspect behaved like a beast and he will face a murder charges after police are through with investigations,” said Mr Wenda.
