A prime suspect in the murder of a prison warder attached to Sotik GK Prison was found dead after a suspected suicide in Kabunyony Forest in Eldama Ravine, Baringo county.
Police said the body of Geoffrey Kiprono Walley, who had been sought over the killing of prison warder Abigael Chepkemoi, was discovered hanging from a tree on Saturday.
According to police, investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) traced the suspect to the Kabunyony area in Eldama Ravine, prompting a joint search operation.
The operation was launched after the public spotted an abandoned red Bajaj Boxer motorcycle believed to belong to the suspect along the Eldama Ravine-Eldoret road and alerted the area chief, who informed police.
A team comprising officers from the Sotik Sub-County Criminal Investigations Office (SCCIO), DCI Koibatek and Eldama Ravine Police Station, assisted by local residents, searched Kabunyony Forest where they found the suspect’s body hanging from a tree.
Police recovered a black bag near the body containing an empty bottle of an insecticide, an empty bottle of acaricide and a plastic bottle containing a clear liquid.
The items were collected and retained as exhibits for further analysis.
Investigators also established that on Friday, July 24, the suspect had informed members of his family through a mobile phone conversation of his intention to take his own life.
The scene was processed by detectives before the body was moved to the Eldama Ravine Subcounty Hospital Mortuary, where a post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted.
The discovery brings a dramatic turn to investigations into the killing of Chepkemoi, whose death had sparked a manhunt for the suspect.
Police said investigations into both the murder and the circumstances surrounding the suspect’s death are continuing.
It is not clear what triggered the murder of the warder.
Suicide has been a leading cause of death in the country, with up to three cases being reported daily.
Elsewhere, a 31-year-old woman died after allegedly being stabbed by her boyfriend during an attack at her business premises in Rachuonyo South Subcounty, Homa Bay county.
Police identified the deceased as Rose Moraa Ayienda, who operated a drinking joint at Holo Centre in Kachien South Location.
According to police, the incident occurred on the night of July 23 at around 11 p.m.
A friend and neighbour of the deceased told police she was informed that Moraa had been stabbed by her boyfriend and rushed to hospital.
The following morning, she visited
Moraa at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, where the injured woman
reportedly identified her boyfriend, known only as Maurice, as the person who
attacked her.
Later that afternoon, she was informed that Moraa had succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment.
Officers from Kosele Police Station and detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Rachuonyo South visited the scene at Holo Centre and found blood stains on the floor of the drinking establishment operated by the deceased.
The officers also visited the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary, where Moraa’s body was preserved. Police observed a stab wound on the lower chest extending to the abdomen.
No murder weapon was recovered from the scene.
The suspect fled after the attack and remains at large. Police have launched a manhunt to trace and arrest him.
The body is being preserved at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination as investigations continue.
