A Kiambu businessman arrested in connection with the death of his ex-girlfriend allegedly confessed to the murder, revealing that he also tried to take his own life.
According to police, Evans Karani, 38, said he killed Catherine Nyokabi, 24, on Wednesday last week and dumped her body near a forest hoping it would be eaten by wild animals.
Karani reportedly told detectives that early last week he had unsuccessfully tried to convince Ms Nyokabi to delete a photo of her alleged new lover from her phone because it was hurting him.
When she declined, Karani started hatching a plan to kill her. He initially wanted to murder his married love rival but later changed his mind.
On the material day, the suspect phoned Nyokabi and asked her to meet him so that they could settle their differences.
Nyokabi, a mother of a six-year-old boy, agreed and even asked for money for a hairdresser.
They would later meet in Ndarugo area of Kiambu County. They hopped inside his Nissan Wingroad, registration number KCE 920V, where Karani had bottles of her favourite wine.
When he realised Nyokabi was inebriated, Karani told police that he strangled her with his belt. He then reclined her seat and used a rope to finish the mission.
Karani then drove to Tola Estate in Witeithie, Juja constituency to dump the body but his car got stuck in mud near Bob Harris area.
In a bid to get rid of the evidence, Karani mutilated the body using a knife and tried to cover it with mud.
The following day, Karani said he tried to commit suicide by ingesting poison but this did not work. When the pain became unbearable, he drank a packet of milk to induce vomiting.
He would later confide to a close friend that he had killed Nyokabi and that the act was haunting him. The friend called the police who traced the suspect to his hideout in Githurai Kimbo.
Investigators told Nation they made a breakthrough in the case after the suspect led them to where he disposed of the murder weapons.
Karani on Monday appeared before Thika Law Courts virtually from Juja Police Station, and asked Magistrate Oscar Wanyaga to speed up his sentence.
He will remain in lawful custody for another 14 days until police complete their investigations.
The matter will come up for mention on May 3.
