Five-year-old twins witness mother’s gruesome murder by father

Shot of police at a crime scene [Courtesy]

Twins aged five are in shock after witnessing the gruesome murder of their mother and father’s alleged attempted suicide at a residential flat in Nakuru. 

Paul Ochieng’, 40, is said to have stabbed his wife Njeri Kamande with a kitchen knife after what is believed to be a domestic quarrel in their house in Freehold Estate. 

Cyrus Wanyonyi, a guard at the flats said the couple returned home at around 10pm and appeared to have argued during their drinking spree in town. 

“It was unlike Njeri to pass me without greetings. They were not talking to each other. Ochieng’ told me that he had run out of power tokens, the reason why their house was dark,” said Wanyonyi. 

At the time, Wanyonyi said, the couple had left their children alone in the house and had been crying from a dark balcony on the front side of their house. 

“Minutes after the two got inside, I heard a commotion. I rushed up and found their door was locked and the house was still dark. The children cried louder saying their mother was bleeding,” said Wanyonyi. 

He added that Ochieng’ then silently walked to the front balcony of their house on the fourth floor and jumped to the ground in a suicide attempt. 

Wanyonyi revealed that the couple had been partying till late in the night leaving the two minors on their own. 

“This was the second time that Ochieng’ was threatening to throw himself over the balcony after a disagreement with the wife. I tried to speak to them over leaving their children on their own and they told me off,” said Wanyonyi.

Confirming the incident, Nakuru East Sub County Police Commander Elena Kabukuru said that Njeri was already dead by the time they managed to access the house. 

“We managed to rescue the two children from the house. Njeri was lying lifeless in a pool of blood with a stab wound on the right side of her chest,” said Kabukuru. 

The police boss said that the suspect survived the suicide attempt and was rushed to the hospital where he was stabilised. 

“The suspect miraculously survived the fall but sustained injuries on his legs. Police officers rushed him to Nakuru Level Five Hospital where he is recuperating. Njeri’s body was moved to the county municipal morgue,” said Kabukuru. 

She added that they had recovered the murder weapon-a sharp knife from the crime scene, adding that the suspect is under police guard at the hospital. 

“We have every reason to believe that the suspect committed the offense. He will be arraigned in court and charged with murder once he is discharged from the hospital,” said Kabukuru. 

She added that the couple was relatively new at the residential flats and had only lived there for only two weeks. 

“The two children are currently under the custody of their neighbors who have been taking care of them in the absence of their parents. We have started tracing the woman's relatives," said Kabukuru.