Funeral home staff destroys evidence in death case in Nyayo

A crucial exhibit the investigators would have relied on in unravelling the mysterious death of a man whose skeleton was found in the attic of their house has been destroyed in unclear circumstances.

The revelation that the deceased’s clothes were never handed over to the pathologist but instead burnt further complicates the investigation, especially after the initial postmortem revealed that the skeleton had no injuries at all.

The remains of Mr Peter Njagi Munyi, then 22, were found in their house, Maisonette 208 in Nyayo Embakasi together with the clothes he was putting on presumably at the time of his death.

Both the remains and the clothes were taken to the Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home, but instead of storing them safely for the pathologist, a mortician burnt them completely.

This, the investigators said, is very suspicious and the matter is under investigation.

The pathologist and the homicide investigators said that it was difficult to conclusively determine the cause of death.

As a result, the pathologist took some samples for analysis and the results are expected to be released in three months.

Investigators also seek to establish whether the mortician acted out of negligence or had deliberately wanted to destroy the evidence.

The deceased mother, Ms Lucy Kina Munyi, reported to the Embakasi police station on Wednesday evening that they found the remains believed to be that of her son, who disappeared in August 2014, in the attic of their house.

She said that that day, her nephew, Mr Nicassio Mbogo, had climbed up the ceiling to check the water tank.

NOTHING YET

He saw a pair of white sports shoes and on closer look saw the skeleton.

He informed Ms Munyi and her son, Mr Lawrence Njeru.

At the time of his death, the deceased was wearing red tracksuit pants and a dark green jacket.

He was lying on his back facing upward, with his head tilted to the right.

The Crime Scene Support Services (CSSS) detectives visited the scene, photographed the remains and took them, together with the clothes, to the mortuary.

The postmortem was conducted by the Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor who in his report indicated that the skeleton had no signs of injuries.

“When a skeleton has no injuries, it is difficult to immediately establish the cause of death. We, therefore, took some tissues for toxicology,” Mr Oduor said.

The deceased mother will on Monday report to the Embakasi Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss peter Ndubi for further grilling.

The father has however not reported to the police station.