Key suspect linked to the murder of two women in Thika arrested in police operation.
Detectives from the Homicide Directorate in Nairobi arrested a suspected serial killer linked to the harrowing murders of two young women in Thika, Kiambu County.
The first case unfolded on March 17, 2025, when 22-year-old Rosemary Njeri Ndekei vanished minutes after heading to Thika town to shop for clothes.
Her disappearance sparked concern, leading to a missing person report being filed at Thika Police Station by her boyfriend and relatives.
Tragically, on March 18, 2025, members of the public discovered the lifeless
body of a young woman in a coffee plantation in the Karibaribi area.
Without identification documents, the decomposing body was transported to General Kago Mortuary for identification and autopsy, police said.
On March 19, 2025, the body was identified as that of Rosemary by her family, confirming their worst fears.
Upon autopsy, the government pathologist confirmed the cause of death to be manual strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, clear signs of a brutal homicide.
The second incident occurred on March 31, 2025, when 20-year-old Hellen Wambui Ndung'u, a student at Gituamba Vocational Training College, disappeared after being sent by her mother to buy foodstuffs at Ngorongo Trading Centre, still in Kiambu. And just like in the case of Rosemary, the following day her body was discovered in a bush, partially covered with soil.
The body had no visible injuries,
and neighbours identified her as the missing girl.
Determined to unravel the mystery behind these patterns of murders, detectives from the Homicide Directorate in Nairobi joined forces with their Thika counterparts in a painstaking probe.
Utilising forensic leads and the Exchange Principle, the team trailed and
arrested the prime suspect, Samuel King'ara Kimani, at Dry area of Ngomongo on
April 14, 2025.
The investigation uncovered a chilling pattern, according to police handling the cases.
According to the investigations, in both cases, the suspect accosted the victims at isolated pathways, thereafter dragging them into the depths of sprawling coffee plantations, where he sexually assaulted them before ruthlessly taking their lives and holing up without a trace.
King’ara was arraigned on April 16, 2025, where detectives were granted
custodial orders to complete investigations.
Police say murder cases have been
on the rise amid efforts to address the trend.
Authorities say the homicide department has been given a separate office and resources to focus on the cases and solve them.
