17 years later, murder of Kenyan mother and 2 daughters in US still unsolved
Seventeen years after a mother and her two daughters, whose badly battered bodies were discovered on August 1, 2007, in their Atlanta, Georgia home, local detectives have been left baffled on what exactly happened.
The attack that killed Jane Kuria, 47, and her daughters Isabella Kuria, 19, and Annabel Kuria, 16, also left the woman’s son, Jeremy Kuria, 7, and his cousin Peter Thande, 10, seriously injured and unconscious.
The bodies of the single mother and her daughters were discovered by her sister-in-law, Pauline Thande, and her niece, Diana Maina, who went to check on them after she did not answer her call.
What they found were four separate crime scenes, equally horrific and gruesome.
When the two arrived at their home, they found a lot of blood and a body and decided to call the cops. According to local news outlets, Jane was found in the kitchen, Isabella near the front door entrance and Annabel in her bedroom.
Jeremy was found unconscious, laying in his bed and Peter Thande, who is Pauline Thande’s son, was found unconscious next to a couch in the living room. Jeremy and Peter survived the ordeal.
No murder weapon or other usable DNA was left behind, but one acquaintance of Jane’s emerged as a “person of interest.” The boys eventually recover but have no memory of their assault.
For nearly 17 years now, the police have not made any arrests even as the family calls for action from the authorities.
Also read: Woman in court for stealing nephew’s academic certificates and cash
Homicide investigators in the past indicated they had gone over reams of evidence in search of a motive, but said they have no idea who committed the crime and why.
The late Kuria and her children moved to the US in 2001 from Kenya after the death of her husband. In 2002 she moved to the suburb of Powder Springs.
Until she met her death she was working at a local hospital and nursing home. Isabella was a college student while Annabel was a high school sophomore.
According to GAFollowers a local news site, it was pointed out by Jane’s immigration lawyer that she and her daughters had applied for asylum because of their opposition to female genital mutilation.
Jane said that their lives were in danger if they returned to their native country, Kenya. The asylum was denied and Jane was in the process of appealing when she and her two daughters were murdered.
The two survivors of the homicide have moved on with their lives, but cannot help but look back at the crime that changed their lives, knowing that their family’s killer is still out there somewhere.
It has taken Jeremy, now 18, time to heal — both physically and mentally, after losing his entire family to the unknown assailant. He recovered in the hospital for two months following the attack. But the mental scars have taken years to overcome.
Also read: Man in trouble for failing to report housemate who defiled 17-year-old schoolgirl
According to Diana, who spoke to 11Alive in 2018, while PK was eating ugali he looked at his mom and said he remembered that that was the meal he was eating the day of the attack.
“He remembered the man who came to the house was wearing an African shirt,” she said.
“Detectives said that they’ve never found… any kind of blood, that was not for the family,” Diana said then. “There was just nothing. So, it’s like somebody just came in and killed them and just left. But, how does that happen? And how is it that it’s been 10 years and nobody has found anything?”
Five years ago, Jeremy appealed for help to settle Sh5 million hospital bill after undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumour.
Jeremey underwent the operation to remove the growth that his family believes may have been triggered by a murderous attack in 2007.
A family member based in the US said Jeremy might have sustained severe injuries that caused a brain tumour when unknown assailants attacked his family at their Powder Springs home in the city.
There is little progress on the case and it has since gone cold.
Also read: Two suspects detained over murder of Maasai Mara University student