Kilimani murder: Man detained for DNA profiling
What you need to know:
- Njeri’s body was last Saturday discovered in a flowerbed at Santonia Court in the upmarket Kilimani in Nairobi by workers at the property.
- Blood was oozing from her nose, and she had some back injuries.
- She was holding a partially smoked marijuana stick.
Three suspects linked to the death of a woman, whose body was found in a flowerbed in Kilimani, were on Thursday arraigned in Nairobi.
Two suspects, Christine Awuor Aluoch and Claire Chepkoech Ng’eno were released on Sh100,000 bail while the third suspect, Shem Lwanga Mang’ula, was remanded for DNA profiling.
Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot directed Awour and Chepkoech to report daily to the investigating officer of the case police constable Joseph Nderitu until further orders.
Mr Cheruiyot declined an application by State Prosecutor Kennedy Panyako to deny all the three suspects bond saying “major ground surrounding the death of Sheila Njeri Murage has been covered since an autopsy report has been released.”
The magistrate added: “An autopsy report indicates that the deceased died as a result of head injuries due to blunt force trauma with sexual assault preceding the murder.”
Njeri’s body was last Saturday discovered in a flowerbed at Santonia Court in the upmarket Kilimani in Nairobi by workers at the property.
Blood was oozing from her nose, and she had some back injuries. She was holding a partially smoked marijuana stick.
Pressing for the release of Awour and Chepkoech, defence lawyer Cliff Ombeta said due their gender they cannot be detained for extraction of some samples for DNA profiling.
“It is obvious that sexual assault couldn’t be perpetrated by members of the female gender and they (Awour and Chepkoech) can’t be biologically and scientifically be associated with the spermatozoa found in the victim’s genitalia since they are of the same gender with the deceased,” Mr Cheruiyot said.
Mr Panyako said the autopsy conducted reveal a possible murder case that was preceded by a sexual assault.
The prosecutor said police are pursuing crucial witnesses and other possible suspects who attended the party.
An attempt by one of the defence lawyers to gag the media against reporting on the matter was turned down by the magistrate.
