Autopsy reveals Mildred was hit on the head and run over

What you need to know:

  • The cause of death was the injury on the forehead, it looks like she was hit by a hammer and after she was dead then placed on the road for vehicles to run over her.
  • She went missing after taking a taxi to hospital only for her body to be found at a mortuary.

A post-mortem on the body of Mildred Akinyi Odira showed that she was hit by a blunt object on the head and other parts of her face before being abandoned on the side of a road.

Pathologists examining the body of the 32-year-old switchboard operator for Foresight Company, based at Nation Centre, said the injuries she sustained on the forehead, the cheeks and the neck were inflicted on her while she was seated upright.

The report was released to the family at City Mortuary, where her body had been lying since after it was found by police near Allsopps, on Thika Road, on Tuesday, January 29. The family later moved the body to Lee Funeral Home.

RUN OVER

While revealing the details of the autopsy report, Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo said Ms Odira had several injuries on her torso.

“The cause of death was the injury on the forehead, it looks like she was hit by a hammer and after she was dead then placed on the road for vehicles to run over her,” Ms Odhiambo said.

The autopsy also showed that the injuries on her limbs occurred after "she was ran over by a car and not knocked down,” Ms Odhiambo said.

To establish this, human anatomists observe the changes of colour in the shape and position of the organs. The pooling of blood on the person’s body — a phenomenon called lividity — also provides a clue on the person’s posture before death.

This is caused by the fact that when the heart stops beating, blood moves with gravity to the lowermost part of the body, depending on its position.

Samples extracted from Ms Odira's nails and private parts were taken for analysis to ascertain if she was raped.

The results of the autopsy were released as Ms Odira’s brother said he had received threats from unknown people.

The brother, Carringtone Ogweno, said two strangers asked him to stop investigating the death of his sister.

“In the morning, at around 7am I opened my gate, I found two guys on a motorcycle. They told me to bury her in peace unless I want to follow her," he said.

Ms Odira left her Kariobangi South home at 4am last week on Tuesday, January 29, saying she was going to Ruaraka Uhai Neema Hospital to seek treatment. She had been diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes and ulcers.

STATEMENT

Later that day, she had not communicated and her family, fearing that her health had deteriorated, visited the hospital to check if she had been admitted, but she was not there.

The family reported her disappearance two days later. Her body was found at City Mortuary, where it was reportedly taken by police officers from the Kasarani Traffic Division. The cause of death in the registry was listed as “accident”.

The taxi driver, Mr Davis Ochieng', who had picked up Ms Odira on the fateful morning, told police in his statement that he took her to the hospital in Ruaraka, waited for her for slightly over an hour before he decided to leave.

Detectives demanded to obtain CCTV footage from the hospital when workers there said they had not received a patient by that name.

Shockingly, the CCTV footage extracted from exterior cameras showed the car, a black Mazda Carol with the registration number KCR 388T, arrive at 4.33am, make a U-turn at the hospital and then leave without dropping off the passenger.

In the footage, the driver is seen driving away from the hospital and patting his chest, with a client believed to be Ms Odira in the rear seat.

Mr Ochieng' was arrested and taken to the Milimani Law Courts, but detectives requested to hold him until February 14 as they investigate the killing.