Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have detained a 23-year-old man linked to a series of murders in Nyeri County.

In a statement by the DCI official X account on Thursday, February 20, 2026, the detectives established the death of two women, placing the 23-year-old at the centre of the crime.

“Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have intensified investigations into a chilling series of murders linked to 23-year-old Joseph Njoroge Weru,” DCI said.

According to the DCI, under the stewardship of homicide detectives, augmented by experts from the Crime Scene Investigations Unit (CSI), the Photographic Imaging and Acoustics Unit, and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) at DCI Headquarters, the sleuths have unravelled a grim trail of calculated deception and brutality.

The DCI revealed that the two young women, a 22-year-old and a 28-year-old, were brutally killed in a carefully premeditated attack.

“The detectives have established that two young women, Mary Yamasei Merutuni (28) and Beatrice Nyawira Nyokabi (22), were brutally killed in carefully premeditated attacks,” DCI said.

The detectives confirmed that on 17 January 2026, the 28-year-old left her rented residence in the Castle area of Naro Moru after the person of interest persuaded her to accompany him for a “picnic” in the Karogoto area within Thiu Sub-Location, Nyeri County.

However, what was meant to be a cosy, chilled picnic turned brutal after the person of interest got behind her and struck her repeatedly on the back of the head.

The DCI further explained that the 28-year-old died on the spot, and her body was dragged to the Karogoto Stream in a bid to conceal the crime.

“While approaching a hiking track adjacent to Karogoto stream, the suspect allegedly got behind her and struck her repeatedly on the back of the head, killing her, before dragging her body and dumping it in Karogoto Stream in a bid to conceal the crime,” DCI explained.

The following day, locals discovered the body in the stream and reported the matter to Kiamachimbi Police Station, prompting officers to respond swiftly. At the scene, investigators recovered a thick, blood-stained stick believed to be the murder weapon.

“After the murder, the suspect allegedly returned to the deceased’s house, stole household items including furniture, sold them at a second-hand shop, and even spent the night in her home,” DCI noted.