A woman and her son who were allegedly killed by her husband at Mitunguu, Imenti South in Meru, were brutally murdered, a post-mortem on the bodies has revealed.
Five-year-old Caleb Muriithi had his neck nearly decapitated in the attack, said pathologist Paul Wambugu, who said the victim was defenceless.
His mother Vera Kanario was stabbed on the left side of the neck and had multiple stab wounds on the right side of her groin, he said after conducting the post-mortem witnessed by family members and Mr Daniel Kioko, the investigating officer.
“It appeared that they were both ambushed since they were defenseless. According to my observation of the bodies there were no injuries pointing at any of them defending themselves against the attacker. As a result of the injuries they both died of excessive bleeding,” Dr Wambugu said at Kanyakine Level Four hospital mortuary.
Police are holding Mr Boniface Mutuma, the prime suspect in the double murder that happened on March 25, 2023 in his house.
A detective who is close to the team handling the investigations said in his defence, Mr Mutuma claimed that when he entered his house on Saturday morning, there was a man there.
“In his statement, he claims that when he knocked, the man opened the door and used the child as his shield which led to the boy being fatally injured in the scuffle,” he said.
What investigators will be seeking to establish is whether Mr Mutuma was aware of the alleged intruder, the reason he carried the weapon.
“His claim of the child being used as shield is totally inconsistent with the injury inflicted on the boy. If there was a scuffle this would have been evident in the type of injuries. But further investigations will reveal how the murders were executed,” the detective said.
Dr Wambugu said there was no evidence that Kanario was pregnant. Earlier, a friend of the couple, and Ms Dorcas Karegi, who worked for the couple as a house help, had both indicated that Kanario was pregnant.
“Detectives will be able to establish more information on this but what was clear from my analysis is that she had delivered her son through cesarean section evident from the stitch marks on her abdomen,” he said.
Mr Mutuma will appear in court on March 4, when the court will issue further directions.
