Who killed Teresiah Nyokabi? Police investigate brutal murder of Gatundu woman

Ms Mbonyo said that her daughter's failure to return home on Saturday evening did not initially alarm her, as it had happened occasionally in the past. This time, however, it came with heart-breaking news.

On Sunday morning, she received a phone call from a relative living in Gatundu town, informing her that Ms Nyokabi had been found kneeling naked and lifeless against a wall outside a popular bar.

“I thought throwing the phone away would somehow reverse the bad news. I did not want to believe it was true. I loved my daughter, who lived with me together with her 14-year-old son. Screaming gave me some relief and I did it repeatedly before I passed out in the embrace of my neighbours,” she recalled.

The deceased's grandfather, Francis Waithaka, found Ms Mbonyo's phone where it had landed and called the last number in her call log.

“It was true that my granddaughter was dead. All we needed to do was go to the scene, help move the body to the mortuary, and begin the painful journey of understanding how she died, why she was killed and who was responsible,” he said.

Upon arriving at the scene, Mr Waithaka said his heart sank. He felt as though he had entered hell and witnessed the depths of human brutality.

“I came face to face with the savage cruelty meted out on my granddaughter. She appeared to have been sexually assaulted and she had been left dead in a kneeling position with the wall supporting her body. It can only mean she died in that posture,” he said

He was quick to add that it was not the first time he had witnessed such a scene.

“Victims of both genders have been attacked and murdered in similar circumstances here. Recently, we have seen three women and a man killed in comparable incidents. It is as if the devil has made a home in Gatundu,” he said.

The police arrived and moved the body to the mortuary after the crime scene had been documented and processed by investigators.

According to the preliminary scene report, Ms Nyokabi's body was covered in bruises, suggesting that she had been violently assaulted.

“The physical examination of the body noted injuries that suggested severe trauma and possible sexual assault," the report stated.

Gatundu South Sub-County Police Commander Jane Makena told the Nation that an investigation into the death had commenced, with detectives pursuing several leads.

“We are trying to establish the deceased's final movements. We have several leads regarding the people she may have been with in the hours before she was found dead. We are committed to securing justice in this case, which we are treating as murder," she said.

Ms Makena said that investigators were considering various possible motives, such as a criminal attack, revenge, or a dispute arising from a brief romantic encounter.

“We are also trying to establish whether she was attacked and killed elsewhere before her body was dumped at the scene. We are asking how a town with nightlife and security guards failed to notice either the attack or the dumping of the body. Those are among the key questions forming the basis of our investigations,” she said.

She added that the post-mortem examination would provide detectives with more insight into the case and that samples collected from the body were expected to aid forensic investigations.

“The specimens will help us identify the assailant or assailants through DNA analysis. We already have several suspects on our radar and the forensic results will guide us in making arrests. I want to assure the family that we are doing everything possible to establish the truth behind this murder and ensure justice is served,” she said.

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