A Kenyan man living in a hotel in Putman, Illinois, in the United States, was arrested and arraigned in court for allegedly plotting the death of a female family member.
According to reports, the suspect had planned for a hitman to inject the victim with a substance that would make her die a slow but painful death.
He also wanted the woman to be fatally ill and dead between January 28 and February 3, 2024.
Court documents further revealed that he had planned for her demise while he had traveled to Kenya to avoid being suspected of orchestrating her murder.
The suspect was consulting with an informant who was supposed to hire the hitman to execute the mission. Little did he know that the man was collaborating with the police to expose his hideous plan.
According to the informant, now under a witness protection program, the Kenyan man flew to and from the US to Kenya between September 9 and December 1 this year, planning the assassination of the family member.
However, his plans were cut short by law enforcement officers after a detective posed as the hitman to woo him out.
Per the court documents, the officer was supposed to go on a date with the victim and drug her as instructed by the 52-year-old Kenyan.
Police arraigned the suspect in court and charged him with intimidation of a witness, conspiracy to commit murder, and criminal attempt. According to US laws, anyone found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder shall be sentenced to life imprisonment.
The former bank manager was ordered to pay a bond of Ksh763.4 million (USD 5 million) since he was a flight risk and further directed to surrender all firearms. He was also restrained from interacting with the victims and ought to stay 2,500 feet away from all individuals listed by the court.
To ensure he stays within the US, the 52-year-old Kenyan was asked to surrender his passport and will be monitored through the Global Positioning System (GPS) while on lockdown all day.
Meanwhile, pleas from the defence attorney to set their client's bond at Ksh38.1 million (USD250,000) were denied. His case will be mentioned on January 26 next year.
