Detectives at the Athi River police station have launched investigations after bodies of two children who had been reported missing were found decomposing inside a car at the same police base.
The girl and the boy aged three and four were reported missing at Athi River police station on June 11. The kids disappeared without a trace from their KMC Estate while playing outside their house.
Since then, detectives have been conducting a search, including visiting hospitals and mortuaries until Tuesday afternoon when the bodies were discovered right under their nose.
A Nairobi salesman who had gone to the station to pick up his car – a Toyota Belta- which had been impounded after a crash, alerted the officers that there was a foul smell coming from the trunk of his car, which had been lying at the station for over three months.
“When the owner came to pick the car, he realised that there was a strange cargo in the boot of the car, which was wrapped in a black paper bag,” said an investigating officer.
The officers opened the bag and found the bodies of Alvina Mutheu and Henry Jacktone, who have been described as ‘best friends’. They were also in the same school and sat next to each other in class. They were both the firstborn in their families.
Investigators from the DCI Homicide Unit on Wednesday took over the investigations. The bodies were later taken to the Chiromo Mortuary after their parents identified them.
There was also no bloodstains on the minors’ clothes or in the vehicle, with preliminary investigations indicating that the bodies could have been inside the car for over a week.
A traffic cop who moved the car on May 1 has since recorded statements with the DCI. He said the boot of the car and all the doors were firmly locked and there was no foul smell.
The multi-agency team comprising of homicide and forensics detectives is expected to present a preliminary report to DCI boss George Kinoti in one week.
