Did depression lead mother to strangle seven-year-old son?
Master Jabal Kimathi, 7, who was allegedly killed by his mother.
A seven-year-old boy who is alleged to have been killed by his mother died of lack of oxygen, a postmortem has revealed.
The mother, who police are still holding, allegedly strangled her son, Jabal Kimathi last Friday in her house at Kathumbi, Imenti North in Meru county.
“The postmortem shows that the boy died of lack of oxygen. A close look at his neck revealed some scratch marks,” said Pastor John Murithi, the family spokesperson who is also helping in the burial arrangements, adding that the boy will be laid to rest tomorrow (Friday).
Mr Murithi said the mother could be suffering from depression since she had gone through some traumatising experiences in the recent past.
“She lost another child some years back and we suspect her mind is unstable, since when we went to see her at the police station, we noticed she appeared unaware of what she had done. She spoke incoherently and asked about the incident she denied it,” he said.
A neighbour who spoke on condition of anonymity said they noticed that the woman had stayed in the house for long and they suspected that something was wrong.
He said on the day the boy was discovered dead, the mother had spent the whole morning sleeping.
“It was shocking because she was found sleeping while the body was on the same bed but she appeared not to be aware of what she had done,” the neighbour said, adding that the woman had moved to Meru from Nairobi about a year ago after she separated with her husband.
Imenti North sub-county commander Mr Ezekiel Chepkwony said after being presented to court on Monday, the suspect was still being held by police awaiting to be charged with murder.
“We got the information from Ntakira location assistant chief who reported that a minor had been found dead in a house. The body of the boy had no physical injuries but foam oozed from his mouth,” the OCPD said.
