Autopsy offers zero clues on how Athi River children died

It will take about three to four weeks to establish when exactly two children who were discovered in the back seat of a car at Athi River Police Station died, after they went missing for three weeks.

This is after an autopsy conducted on the bodies of Alvina Mutheu (3) and Henry Jacktone (4) yesterday returned inconclusive results. 

Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor said that the two bodies were too decomposed for him to find out the reason for their death.

“We could not establish the cause of the deaths of the children because their bodies had decomposed and had experienced a lot of deterioration. There has been massive tissue loss and maggot infestation that hindered us from drawing a firm conclusion,” Dr Johansen said.

It also emerged that there were no signs of injuries on the two bodies, and consequently, the government pathologist said he has forwarded samples to the government chemist for further tests. 

A forensic entomologist will be able to analyse the samples and tell exactly when the two children died, a process that will take another three to four weeks.

“There were no fractures on their bones and we cannot attribute their deaths to any specific cause. We now rely on the police and further results from the government lab to figure the details of the deaths,” he added.

NO PEACE

The Executive Director of Haki Yetu activist group Hussein Khalid asked the police as well as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to fast-track investigations into the deaths.

Baby Jackton’s father, Stephen Mulinge, said he was not yet at peace and would only rest when the truth surrounding the deaths of the children is found.

“We are still waiting for the results from the government chemist. I am not yet satisfied with the autopsy done today. We want justice to prevail. For now, we will wait,” Mr Mulinge said. 

This development will now see the burial of the two children postponed further because the bodies were retained until the government tests are completed and results given.

TOUGH QUESTIONS REMAIN

Many questions remain after their bizarre deaths, including who killed the two children and how they got to the backseat of a car that had been towed to the police station.

It is also not clear how the officers based at the station did not detect the smell emanating from the decomposing bodies.

The two children had gone to play near the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) in Athi River but never came back home, prompting their parents to report their disappearance on June 11 at the same police station.