NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 6 – Police have arrested a 23-year-old man suspected of killing an 18-year-old Form Four student in a gruesome incident that shocked residents of Molo, Nakuru County.
The suspect, Walter Kipkoech, was arrested after detectives traced him to a hideout in Lagwenda village, Kuresoi North, following a sustained manhunt launched after the killing.
Detectives from Molo, working with officers from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) at the Regional Criminal Investigations Headquarters in the Rift Valley, raided the hideout and arrested Kipkoech.
Police said the suspect had gone into hiding shortly after the death of Joy Wangui, a Form Four student at Molo Secondary School.
Wangui’s body was discovered inside a house in Kiambaa area, Moto Location, in circumstances that detectives described as horrific.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the student’s brother had briefly left the house to go to a nearby shop. On returning, he found his sister lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
Her head had been severed from her body.
Detectives who responded to the scene recovered several weapons, including an axe, panga and two knives, which police said had bloodstains and were found near the body.The victim’s head was later discovered in a corridor.
Investigators also reported finding a message allegedly written on a wall using blood. The message read: “I love you Joy but never cheat, am sorry.”
Preliminary investigations have linked Kipkoech to the deceased as her boyfriend, with detectives pursuing a possible relationship dispute as a motive for the killing.
The suspect was arrested wearing a blood-stained boxer, a white T-shirt with the deceased’s name printed at the hem and black jeans bearing visible dry blood stains, according to the DCI.
He was taken to Molo Police Station, where he is being processed as investigators continue piecing together the events surrounding the student’s death.
Police are expected to present Kipkoech in court as investigations continue.
The DCI said it would continue investigating the circumstances surrounding Wangui’s death and pursue all those found to have played a role in the killing.
The agency also conveyed its condolences to Wangui’s family, relatives and friends, saying it remained committed to ensuring that those responsible face the full force of the law.
The arrest comes amid renewed concerns over violence against women and girls, with investigators increasingly scrutinising intimate relationships and domestic disputes in cases involving young women.
Police, however, are yet to establish the full circumstances surrounding Wangui’s death, and the suspected motive remains subject to further investigation and court proceedings.
