Mother surrenders to police after killing son in a lodging in Makueni

A woman surrendered to the police after she had killed her 11-year-old son in a bizarre incident at a lodging in Mumbuni area, Makueni County.

The woman spared her two other children aged six and three in the incident, police said of the March 22 incident.

The motive of the murder was not immediately known, police said.

Police said the woman had on March 21 night checked into a lodging in the area while accompanied by her three children.

The following day, the woman walked out reportedly to buy toothpaste in a nearby shop. After she delayed, the manager of the facility told police she went into the room to inquire and found it unlocked.

Inside she found two children sitting on the bed while the third one was unconscious.

Police were called and confirmed the deceased was a Grade 4 pupil at Miau Primary School in the area. His body lay on the bed. It had visible marks on the neck believed to have been out of strangulation.

The police said the other two boys were fine.

The body was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy as the family of the children was contacted to take their custody pending investigations

The woman later surrendered to Machakos Police station where she was detained pending transfer to Makueni for processing for possible arraignment.

Police said they were investigating the incident.

A team set up to pursue the matter wants to establish what motivated the woman’s actions.

The woman will be taken for among others psychiatric tests as part of the probe into the murder.

In Kipkaren, Nandi County, one Bethwel Kiptanii, 26 was found dead with a wound on his left side of the neck.

The motive of the attack was not immediately known, police said as they moved the body to the mortuary pending other procedures.

Murder cases have been on the rise amid efforts to solve them. Most of the cases are linked to love triangle, land disputes and deals gone bad, police investigations show.