In 2019, homicide cases flooded the Kenyan media, ith thousands of victims losing their loved ones in the hands of people close to them.
A compilation of the 2019 deaths paints a picture of broken families and a group of people that chose to engage in cold blood murder in a bid to settle personal wrangles.
It is a trend that left countless tears and unanswered questions. Below are five shocking murder cases that grabbed all the major headlines in Kenya in 2019.
1.) Tob Cohen
On Friday, September 13, the country was treated to shocking news after the body of a Dutch billionaire, Tob Cohen, was found in his home in Lower Kabete.
Cohen had gone missing for 40 days before his body was retrieved from an underground water tank.
Director of Criminal Investigations boss, George Kinoti, described the death as gruesome, adding that his killers had taken their time in committing the atrocious crime.
"He hands, legs, and the neck were all bound before he was murdered and then hid in an underground water tank," Kinoti emotionally explained.
The deceased’s wife, Sarah Cohen, was arrested in connection to the murder but was later released on a Ksh2 million cash bail or Ksh4 million bond.
2.) Ivy Wangechi
Wangechi was a medical student at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret.
According to those who witnessed the heinous act, Wangechi was walking outside the institution with her friends, when her assailant hacked her to death.
An angry mob pelted him with stones until he collapsed, but the police came just in time and rescued him.
Naftali Kinuthia, the suspect, was denied bail by Eldoret High Court judge Stephen Githinji.
In his ruling, he stated that the suspect was likely to interfere with witnesses and that his own life would be at risk if released.
3.) Joyce Syombua and her two children, Shanice Maua and Prince Michael
Joyce Syombua and Shanice Maua and Prince Michael (her children), went missing on October 26, 2019.
About a month later, their bodies were found buried in a shallow grave within Thingithu Estate in Nanyuki.
Post morterm results showed that Ms Syombua died from injuries on her head and brain inflicted by a blunt object while her two children were strangled with a rope to death.
The main suspect in this case, Ms Syombua’s husband Peter Mugure and two other accomplices
have been arrested and placed in police custody over the murder as investigations go on.
4.) Mary Wambui Kori
In what seemed like a love triangle gone terribly wrong, Ms Wambui is suspected to have been murdered by her husband’s lover, Judy Wangui.
Reports indicated that Wambui was murdered on January 26, 2019, after an argument between her and Wangui resulted in a fight.
She is said to have died as a result of nine blows to the head that were allegedly delivered by Wangui, who is then believed to have wrapped the deceased's body with a bedsheet, ready for disposal.
Her body was found in a thicket in Ruiru. Wambui’s husband Joseph Kori, her lover Wangui and a taxi driver were then arrested for the murder, but Kori was released in what a Kiambu law court termed as lack of evidence.
5.) Bery Ouma
According to autopsy results, Ms Ouma, a Kahawa Sukari resident, was strangled to death in her sleep on February 21, 2019.
She was also allegedly savagely beaten by her husband Laiko Osuri and succumbed to the fatal injuries inflicted during their fight.
