Former UK Soldier Charged of Murdering Kenya Woman Shows Up in Courtroom

A suspect has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the case of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from the Manchester area, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition request. Reports indicate that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was released by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that the individual had been facing a one count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan government would seek his extradition to face charges.

He served formerly as a medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the army unit for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, disappeared after a night on the town, and her corpse was located after two months in the grounds of the hotel where she had previously spotted.

Nobody had before been detained or accused in relation to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss came after a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a report in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the newspaper contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the regiment.

This inquiry has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the matter.