Details of a guard’s crime of passion involving a university student emerge
Police are trying to piece together the timeline of a murder committed between two lovers in Nakuru.
Detectives claim that Ezra Kipkemoi, a security guard in Nakuru, is the prime suspect in the murder of Karatina University student Phyllis Jepleting Jeruto.
The last day that anyone saw Mr. Kipkemoi was after Christmas, December 26, 2022.
He left behind the lifeless body of Ms. Jeruto which was discovered by neighbours at the Naka Estate in Nakuru. Police suspect that the boyfriend could have murdered her before escaping.
“There was a foul smell emanating from the house and so we alerted the police. The man was not around and we found it odd that there was a bad smell coming from his house,” said a neighbour.
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Nakuru County Criminal Investigations boss Anthony Sunguti, explained, “The decomposing body was discovered in the boyfriend’s house on January 1. Blood was oozing from the mouth, nose, and ears. We are pursuing the suspect to aid in the investigations.”
“The main suspect’s phone number is switched off and neighbours say he was last seen on December 26,” added Mr. Sunguti.
Nakuru East sub-county Criminal Investigations boss George Momanyi, believes that Jepleting met her death in that house at Naka Estate.
According to a neighbour who sought anonymity, the Karatina University student travelled to Nakuru on December 19, 2022, after they closed for the December holidays, to visit her boyfriend.
“After they closed for the December holidays, Jepleting’s parents sent her Sh2,600 and told her not to travel home. However, she decided to travel to Nakuru to spend the holiday with her boyfriend,” revealed the relative on Monday.
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“We have established that she travelled with her colleague but alighted in Nakuru City, saying she wanted to visit a relative. That is the last time her friend saw her,” the relative added.
It has since emerged that she usually spent time at her boyfriend’s house before going home after school.
8 days later, she was dead.
The decomposing body of Ms. Jeruto, a Maths/Biology First-Year student at Karatina University, was found at her boyfriend’s house.
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An autopsy conducted on Monday, January 2, 2023, at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital, by Government Pathologist Titus Ngulungu, revealed that she died of strangulation. The postmortem indicated, that she, died from asphyxiation, caused by manual neck compression.
“As a result of my examination, I formed the opinion that the cause of death was asphyxiation, caused by manual neck compression,” stated Dr. Ngulungu in his report.
Ten days since the murder was reported, Mr Kipkemoi was arrested on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations caught up with him in the evening at Kibwareng, in Nandi County as he sought medication from Kibwareng Health Centre in Aldai.
The security guard is being treated as the prime suspect in the murder of Ms. Jepleting who was his girlfriend.
Nakuru East Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Momanyi revealed that the suspect is being detained at Nakuru Central Police Station.
“We smoked him from his hideout in Nandi County. He was arrested on Wednesday evening and will be arraigned on Thursday morning,” Mr. Momanyi said.
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