Couple suspected of killing child to save marriage arrested

A couple has been arraigned in Murang'a for allegedly murdering their two-year old daughter over a family dispute.

Stephen Kamau Kariuki and his wife Mildred Musya appeared before Resident Magistrate Sheila Nyaga on Monday after they were arrested by police on Sunday.

The arrests came after a body of their daughter was found in Mathioya River after she went missing for four days.

The two are suspected to have killed Sibly Matsista on Thursday last week and dumped her body into the river and later lied to authorities that their child had gone missing.

CHILD MISSING

According to investigating Officer Ignatius Ewoi, the baby reportedly went missing on May 28 when she and her mother had gone to fetch water.

The detectives read mischief in the suspect’s statement and after thorough investigations, they established that Ms Musya had allegedly killed her daughter to save her stormy marriage.

“They first stated that their daughter had gone missing but after thorough interrogations we read mischief and established that there could have been foul play. We found out that the child had been killed and dumped in the river,” an officer told the Nation.

Locals who spoke to the Nation said the couple had been having a family feud over the two children the woman brought into the marriage, a move they said could have led to the murder of the child.

MARRIAGE WOES

“The family of the husband has been having issues with the woman who got married with two children and this could have led to the death of the innocent child. It is not the first time she tried to kill the child; she had just recovered from poisoning by her mother,” Lucy Wanjiku, a resident of Gaturi village said.

The court gave detectives two weeks to conclude investigations.

MURDER CASES

Murang’a County Commissioner Mohammed Barre has raised concerns over the increased cases of murder in the county, saying they are receiving such reports on a daily basis.

He urged locals with information on such incidents to volunteer it in order to curb them.

He expressed fears that most of the suicide incidents are not normal, saying some victims are most likely killed and hanged to make it look like they have committed suicide.

“Most of the suicide cases are not normal. How can one commit suicide and then sit down with a rope on his neck? There is more than meets the eye and we urge locals to volunteer information to the police to establish the truth of the matter,” he said during Madaraka Day celebrations.