Detectives in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, have arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of murdering an 84-year-old woman in a brutal attack.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the victim sustained serious injuries during the attack and was rushed to Cheranganyi Nursing Home for treatment.
Despite efforts by medical personnel to save her life, the elderly woman succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment.
“Despite the medical team’s determined efforts to save her life, she succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment,” the DCI said in a statement.
Following the incident, detectives launched a manhunt for the suspect after he reportedly went into hiding.
The DCI said painstaking investigations and sustained police operations eventually led detectives to the suspect, who was tracked down and arrested.
He was subsequently subjected to an identification parade, where witnesses positively identified him as the person suspected to have been involved in the attack.
However, detectives pursuing the case uncovered another lead that could link the suspect to a separate killing in neighbouring Bungoma County.
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect may also be connected to the killing of an 86-year-old woman in Tongaren, Bungoma County.
Detectives are now investigating whether the two cases are connected and whether the suspect could have been involved in other offences.
Investigators have also raised concerns that the 84-year-old victim may have been sexually assaulted before her death.
“Preliminary investigations have further established that the suspect may have sexually assaulted the 84-year-old victim before her death,” the DCI said.
Detectives are conducting forensic examinations and pursuing other critical lines of inquiry as they work to reconstruct the events leading to the woman’s death.
The investigations are also expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault and determine whether the suspect can be linked conclusively to the separate case in Tongaren.
The suspect remains in police custody as detectives piece together the evidence ahead of his arraignment in court.
Police said investigations remain ongoing, with detectives leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to establish the full circumstances surrounding the offences.
