A forensic investigator into the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani yesterday told court she found a bullet in murder suspect Jacqueline Maribe’s bedroom.
Jennifer Jepkosgei, however, said she could not connect the evidence she collected from Monica’s house in Lamuria Gardens, Nairobi, and that recovered from the journalist’s house in Lang’ata.
Maribe and her fiancé Joseph Irungu alias Jowie are being tried for murder.
Asked by defence lawyer Katwa Kigen if any of the weapons she found in Lang’ata were used to kill Monica, the investigator said she could not establish any link with the murder weapon since Monica was killed using a sharp object and not a gun.
“I cannot say what actually caused the death, but going by the injuries on her neck, I suspect that her throat was slit using a sharp object. I did not see any bullet wound on her body and I wasn’t able to recover any sharp object in the suspects’ house,” said Jepkosgei.
She produced photographs of the two houses. The investigator also produced photos of a site Mr Irungu is said to have burnt his clothes at, in what police said was an attempt to destroy evidence.
“I was sure that the debris of the burnt clothes belonged to the suspect because the site was directly opposite their gate,” said Jepkosgei.
“I (accompanied) the team of investigators to Royal Park Estate in Lang’ata where it was suspected the person who committed the offence was residing. We visited the two houses which were of interest and recovered evidence we could link to the murder,” the investigator added.
She added that her team did not ask security guards about CCTV footages of events at Monica’s house because they were only interested in securing the murder scene.
She testified that the investigators first went to a house belonging to Maribe’s neighbour, where they found a loaded gun in a briefcase hidden in the ceiling. The house’s owner produced a certificate of ownership.
Jepkosgei said they then went to the house where Maribe and Irungu were living and took photos of a bullet they found in the bedroom.
The hearing continues today, with the prosecution expected to present four more witnesses.
