Shantel Nzembi murder: Court orders mental checks for 3 suspects
Nativity Mutindi Nthuku and Patrick Muriithi Wambaire, suspects in the murder of eight-year-old girl Shantel Nzembi, at a Kajiado court on June 7, 2021.
What you need to know:
- The suspects have been in police custody for the last seven days as detectives were allowed to continue holding them as they investigated the case further.
A court in Kajiado County on Tuesday ordered mental assessments for three suspects in the murder of eight-year-old Shantel Nzembi.
Nativity Mutindi (27), Patrick Muriithi Wambaire (28) and bodaboda rider Livingston Makacha (27) will be examined at Mathari hospital in Nairobi ahead of their plea-taking at the Machakos High Court on June 24.
The directives were issued when the three faced Kajiado Resident Magistrate Edwin Mulochi.
They will be held at Kitengela Police Station ahead of their exams.
The suspects have been in police custody for the last seven days as detectives were allowed to continue holding them as they investigated the case further.
The suspects
Five suspects were arrested over the murder of Shantel, who went missing on May 29.
Her body was found dumped by a road in Kitengela town, stashed in a gunny bag, on May 31 by abductors who had demanded a ransom of Sh300,000 from her parents.
Ms Mutindi was found with the mobile phone simcard used to demand the ransom, which had hidden it in her house in Noonkopir village, Kitengela.
Mr Wambaire, a roadside Airtel agent in Kitengela, registered the sim card for suspect Francis Mbuthia Mikuhu, who is said to have used his identification details to register a new cell phone line in Kiserian town to which the money was to be sent.
Mr Mikuhu and a fifth suspect have since been set free.
Mr Makacha was found with the handset used by abductors to call Shantel’s mother, Ms Christine Ngina, to demand the money. He is also suspected to have dumped Shantel’s body where it was found.
The girl was buried on June 12 in Machakos.
