Suspect confesses defiling, killing five children in Eldoret
By People Reporter, July 16, 2021Wycliff Kipsang
When Loice Muthoni left for work on May 21, 2020, she was looking forward to re-uniting with her two children later that evening.
That was not, however, to be as her eldest daughter Grace Njeri, 12, disappeared under unclear circumstances the same day.
Family, friends and relatives searched for her everywhere to no avail only for her lifeless body to be recovered on June 18, 2020 at Serenoi’s Farm, Moi’s Bridge in the outskirts of Eldoret town.
Muthoni yesterday told People Daily that a neighbour told her then that her daughter went outside the compound to play with her friends.
That was the last to be heard of her only for her body to be discovered nearly a month later.
Investigations would later reveal that the minor had been killed by Evans Juma Wanjala, a key suspect detained by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who has confessed to killing three other girls.
All the victims were aged below 15 years and were all defiled before they were killed.
On Wednesday, the suspect led detectives to five different areas where he confessed to have killed and dumped the children’s bodies.
Dumped in a thicket
Muthoni yesterday urged security agencies to expedite investigations into the circumstances surrounding the bizarre murder of her daughter.
“Her brother keeps asking me what happened to her sister and I don’t know what to say.
It seems there is something more to these chilling murders. Somebody cannot just kill our children.
There should be some people behind this, “a tearful Muthoni said. Another family is agony over the disappearance and murder of their daughter.
Linda Jerono Kinyua’s mutilated body was found dumped in a thicket in Moi’s Bridge.
Jerono, who was set to join Form One next month had visited a relative at Moi’s Bridge when she met her death.
Jerono’s s eldest brother Dennis Kipkoech described her younger sister as a very jovial person who interacted freely with people
“I wonder why she was killed. We demand justice as a family. Those behind this heinous act will never know peace,” said Dennis.
On Wednesday, detectives drawn from the DCI’s Homicide and Forensics Department from Nairobi visited various scenes in Moi’s Bridge where the suspect claimed to have killed a total of 5 children between 2019 and 2021.
The suspected serial killer, who accompanied the detectives and forensic experts, led them to five different scenes of crime where he had confessed to have dumped the children’s bodies.
The suspect, who looked composed, pointed the exact positions where he allegedly killed several children while the detectives took photos and videos that would aid in investigations.
According to police reports, the suspect is a habitual offender who had allegedly been in prison over related crimes before being set free after completing his jail term.
Wanjala was arrested on June 16, after CCTV footage showed him in the company of his latest victim, 14 year-old Jerono.
Jerono went missing on June 11 and her body was found four days later near Baharini dam. The suspect is said to have been targeting young girls under the age of 15 years.
Another victim, Mary Eluasa, 14, went missing on December 15, 2020 and her body was discovered the next day.
Stancy Nabiso Achieng, 10, also went missing on December 31, 2019 and her body was retrieved from River Nzoia on January 1, 2020.
The killings sparked protests from residents who accused police officers’ laxity.