A 57-year-old man was found dead after he had killed his wife in their home in Sirikwa, Kuresoi, Nakuru County.
The man is believed to have first murdered his 57-year-old woman before he died by suicide. The body of Richard Simotwa was found hanging on a roof truss with a rope around its neck.
That of his wife Junetah Simotwa was found lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds in the neck. Police said the body lay on the bed when it was discovered.
A neighbour of the couple said she was concerned with the silence in the house and went to check if the occupants were safe. It was then that she jumped over the fence and accessed the compound where she realized the couple was dead.
Police were called to the scene and recovered a bloodstained panga and an axe which the man is suspected to have used in the murder.
The motive of the murder and suicide was not immediately established. Police moved the bodies to the mortuary pending an autopsy.
Such murder and suicide incidents have been on the rise amid efforts to solve them. Most incidents are committed by men, police investigations show.
The World Health Organisation says such cases are also attributed to joblessness, death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties and financial difficulties.
Other reasons are bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
Meanwhile, police in Rangwe, Homa Bay County are investigating an incident where a body of a man was found in a river after a suspected murder.
The body was found on River Rangwe in the Andwejo area and had decomposed then.
It was moved to the mortuary pending an identification and autopsy. Police believe the man was killed elsewhere before the body was dumped in the area and swept downstream.
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