Kisumu man kills wife, himself as 6-year-old son watches
What you need to know:
- The couple's firstborn narrated to neighbours how he saw his father grab their mother by her mouth and stab her with a knife repeatedly.
- The youngster also recounted to the consternated neighbours how he watched his father attempt to hang himself with a rope but failed and eventually resorted to drinking poison.
On Monday morning when residents of Metameta in Manyatta estate in Kisumu County woke up to find the children of one of their neighbours playing outside the house without signs of their parents, they became suspicious.
Earlier, a motorbike taxi operator who usually transports the youngsters to school had arrived to pick them up butleft immediately after the firstborn child aged six told him that, "Watu wamekufa hapa ndani" (People are dead inside the house). He thought the boy was joking, so he left.
The next person to approach the children was the landlady, Margaret Otieno.
"I had just started doing my laundry outside my house when I noticed the children playing. I got curious and asked them why they were not in school and the whereabouts of their parents. They told me that their parents were dead. At first I thought they were joking until I went inside their house," said Ms Otieno.
Upon seeing the children's father lying on the floor, the landlady dashed out and headed straight to the house of her medic neighbour George Omondi. The two returned to the couple's house where Mr Omondi made some startling discoveries.
"The man was lying in a supine position on the floor. I didn't want to touch him so I flashed my torch on him and noticed that his eyes were static, not blinking. He appeared to have foamed from the mouth too.
"At first I didn't realise that the deceased's wife was also in the house until I saw her lifeless body on the bed covered in blood with a knife next to her," recounted Mr Omondi.
Curious to know what had transpired in the house, Mr Omondi and Ms Otieno decided to speak with the children.
The couple's firstborn would narrate to them how he saw his father grab their mother by her mouth and stab her with a knife repeatedly.
The youngster also recounted to the consternated neighbours how he watched his father attempt to hang himself with a rope but failed and eventually resorted to drinking poison.
According to a police incident report filed at Kondele Police Station, there was no commotion inside the house, explaining why the neighbours did not hear any suspicious noises.
The police report further indicated that the man identified as Felix Owiti, 32, appeared agitated at work on Sunday.
"The owner of the bar where he works noted that the deceased was unusually angry and disturbed while at work. He demanded that his employer send him money, which she did send to his phone," said the police report.
From the report Nation.Africa also gathered that Mr Owiti was bruised on the neck and foamed on both sides of the mouth while his wife, Jacinta Atieno, 26, had deep stab wounds on her neck and chest.
Hidden phone
"What we found strange is that his mobile phone was hidden inside his underwear. It is not clear what the motive of the murder was," a detective who requested anonymity since he is not authorised to give media briefs disclosed.
According to witnesses, the couple was last seen alive in the wee hours of Monday while leaving Osiepe Bar and Restaurant where Mr Owiti worked as a manager while his wife was employed as a cleaner.
Mr Charles Opaka, a neighbour, said they were once forced to intervene during a domestic row between the couple.
He said that the couple had a serious fight two weeks ago which saw the woman bolt out of her matrimonial house in protest. But she returned a week later.
"And since she came back they have been living peacefully, helping each other with the house chores. The man would fetch water from a nearby well while his wife does the laundry. For me to see them dead today is extremely unbelievable," said Mr Opaka.
Ms Otieno described the late Owiti as an introvert who hardly spoke to his neighbours.
“We met several times out here but he would not engage you beyond greetings. He kept a lot to himself,” she said.
The couple has left behind three children, two sons aged six and three, and a four-year-old daughter.
The bodies were taken to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary awaiting postmortem.
