Man suspected of killing girlfriend, burying her under bed

Shock and grief gripped Thiba village in Kirinyaga county after a man hacked his girlfriend to death and buried her in a rental house.

The decomposing body of Joyce Nginya, 44, was found buried in a shallow grave in the bedroom when police broke into the rental house on Thursday night following a tip-off by the residents.

According to the residents, they became suspicious when they saw flies hovering around the house and alerted the police.

The officers drove to the scene and forced their way into the building and when they checked inside, they saw a grave under the bed.

They scooped out the soil, only to find Ms Nginya’s body in the grave.

They took it to the Kerugoya referral hospital mortuary.

A cloud of sorrow hung over the sprawling village as the body was being pulled out of the grave.

Some of the residents were overwhelmed by emotions and wept uncontrollably as the body was being ferried to the mortuary.

Mwea West police boss Sammy Beauttah said the matter was being treated as murder, adding that the prime suspect who is the deceased's boyfriend was being sought for questioning.

"The deceased had been hit on the head and we would like to establish the motive behind the gruesome murder," said Mr Beauttah.

He said police will not rest until the suspect is arrested and prosecuted.

He asked the family of the deceased who hails from Makima in the neighbouring Embu County to be patient and give detectives time to arrest the suspect.

Residents said they failed to see the deceased on Sunday and were taken aback when they learnt of her death.

"Most likely she was fatally attacked on Sunday and secretly buried by the assailant who hails from Murang'a County. We are in shock following what happened to the deceased," a resident, Mary Wambui, said.

The residents narrated how the deceased fled her matrimonial home in Mbeere South in 2011 after she differed with her estranged husband and started living with her boyfriend in a rental house as she continued working as a miraa trader in the area.

"Before her demise, the deceased lived in this house with her boyfriend. They lived peacefully and we don't know why the boyfriend snuffed out her life and went into hiding," added Ms Wambui.

The residents said before the incident which sent shockwaves across the village, the children of the deceased visited her regularly.

"The children kept on coming to check on their mother. They loved her so much but sadly she has been eliminated," another resident said.

The family said they are now crying for justice and told the police to get to the bottom of the matter.

"We want the assailant to be pursued and arraigned in court. We want to see justice," said Ms Jane Njeru, the deceased's sister.

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