A man killed his wife then surrendered to the police on Tuesday, July 28 in Gilgil County.
County police commander John Onditi said 34-year-old man James Maina and his wife Josephine Wangari Kamau quarreled in the wee hours before the suspect fatally stabbed his wife at around 5 am. Onditi said preliminary investigations indicated that the man had accused his wife of having an extramarital affair.
“The housemaid said she heard Wangari pleading with her husband to stop battering her. At around 5 am, Wangari’s screams faded,” the police boss said.
After killing his wife who worked as a nurse at Gilgil Sub-county Hospital, Maina emerged from the bedroom carrying their 7-month old son and handed the baby over to the house-help, saying he was going to purchase drugs from a nearby chemist because his wife had “developed a headache”.
“The housemaid ran after Maina to ask why he had locked his bedroom door yet his ‘ailing’ wife was inside the room. The suspect is said to have told the house-help to mind her own business, and stop meddling in their affairs,” said Onditi.
The nanny grew suspicious and alerted neighbours who broke down Maina’s bedroom door and found Wangari lying unconscious on the bed.
The accused later presented himself to the police at around 11 am.
“He surrendered after establishing that police had circulated the number plate of his vehicle,” said the police boss.
During interrogations, the suspect fell ill and was rushed to hospital where it was established that he had ingested poison.
“He had taken rat poison with the intention of committing suicide. So, we had to take him to Gilgil Sub-County Hospital first for emergency care before we arraign him. We were able to get the container that contained the poison in his car. He is recovering at the hospital under police watch,” said Mr Onditi.
Neighbours said the couple got married last year in a colourful church wedding but had been fighting over infidelity allegations.
