Man who left woman’s body inside rented house linked to similar murder
A fugitive who left a dismembered body of an unidentified woman in his rented house in Umoja before it was found dumped at a school in the area has been linked to the murder of another woman whose body parts were collected in different parts of Nairobi in April last year.
David Migwi Kariuki, 42, was arrested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives in Ruai where he had relocated after the latest murder.
DCI investigations had established that the body of the unidentified woman found dumped at Tumaini primary school in Umoja had been retrieved from Kariuki’s rented house at Amani Court in the area before it was discovered at the school’s field stashed in different bags.
Kariuki had cut the body into pieces and packed them in several bales using wedding décor materials before he fled.
His landlady Nancy Wanja Njuguna hired two men to retrieve the materials and a blue water tank unaware that the materials had wrapped a human body.
Garbage collector
Ms Njuguna had hired the men to clean the house and a garbage collector who dumped the parts. She had evicted Kariuki who had defaulted rent payment since April before she rented it out.
She has been detained alongside the garbage collector and one of the two men she had hired.
And during investigations, it emerged that Kariuki was the same man captured on CCTV leaving a club in downtown Nairobi with a woman whom he later killed and dumped her torso near Nacico Plaza opposite nearby Shell Petrol Station.
The woman’s other body parts including the head, arms and legs were found at a dumpsite in Umoja.
DNA tests of the body parts and the torso matched and identified her as Peninah Wairimu Njeri with whom Kariuki left Green Club along Latema road on April 27 last year.
The head, arms and legs had been dumped at a dumpsite in Umoja and the torso later spotted by hawkers and motorists black polythene sack who reported to Kamukunji police station.
“It looks like an occult activity. If it was torture, those involved wouldn’t have done all this [cutting off body parts]. The motive is beyond just murder and violence,” a detective said on April 29 last year.
Kariuki had been underground until DCI officers pounced on him on Wednesday.
Obtained court orders
He is in detention at Buruburu police station after Inspector John Kanampiu of Buruburu DCI offices obtained court orders to detain him for 14 days pending investigations.
“During investigations, detectives retrieved CCTV footage from Green Pub within Latema street where the suspect images on 27/4/2019 were captured exiting the pub with the deceased [Peninah],” Kanampiu stated in an affidavit filed at Makadara law courts.
“Upon the arrest of the suspect, it was established that he was the same person captured on CCTV camera at the Green Pub.”
The DCI is trying to establish the identity of the latest Kariuki’s victim then pursue his motive and if there are any other murders he has carried out.