A man suspected of killing his wife at their Stadium Flats house in Nakuru Town East subcounty jumped from the fourth floor of the building on Tuesday.
The man, 40, is said to have had a dispute with his wife, 20, which turned tragic when the man fatally stabbed his wife.
Subcounty police commander Elena Kabukuru said the woman was stabbed on the left side of her chest.
“The man tried to commit suicide by jumping from the four-storeyed apartment and he escaped death with injuries on the limbs,” she said.
Kabukuru said in the 9:30pm incident happened in front of the couple’s daughters aged five and four years.
“A blood-stained knife was recovered from the house and has been secured as an exhibit as investigations into the murder commence,” she said.
The police officer said the couple moved into the house 14 days earlier.
“The children were evacuated from the house and are currently living with neighbours as the police locate the couple’s next of kin,” added Kabukuru.
She said the man was taken to Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital for treatment while under police surveillance and will be charged with murder once he recuperates.
It is not clear where the man works as his claims of working for a leading parastatal were dismissed, while some neighbours claimed that he is a rugby player.
Kabukuru decried the increased cases of homicide in the area and the larger Nakuru county.
The woman’s body was taken to Nakuru county mortuary.
“I would ask couples to engage in dialogue and even seek guidance whenever they have disputes instead of resorting to violence and murder,” she said.
Cases of Gender Based Violence and homicide have been on the rise in the country, a situation that had been blamed on mental illnesses and the effects of Covid-19 such as economic down-turn and job losses.
Last month, a doctor in Nakuru’s posh Milimani Estate is suspected to have killed his two children aged five and three years before attempting to commit suicide.
In the same month a woman was murdered by her lover who also locked the body with their children in the house in Lakeview Estate while a 19-year-old form-three student was killed in a love triangle in Kuresoi South.
Kabukuru said the cases reported in the media were just a tip of the ice-berg.
Her sentiments were echoed by Kuresoi South Sub-County Police Commander, Henry Nyaranga who said cases of murder and suicide were common in his area of jurisdiction.
He said there was need for enhanced mental health awareness as it could be the main cause of the cases.
