A suspect in the murder of socialite Starlet Wahu Mwangi will remain in police custody for the next seven days as detectives conclude investigations before he is formally charged with murder. The suspect John Matara appeared before Makadara Law Court Senior Resident Magistrate Mercy Kivuti on Friday January 26.
The magistrate granted the prosecution’s application that sought to have him in custody. During the time he will undergo mental assessment, a requirement for murder suspect.
Wahu’s family members were also present in court.
At least six female witnesses who fell victim to Matara’s violent attacks after luring them in dating sites pretending to be in search of love have recorded statements over the issue.
Matara was detained after presenting himself at the Mbagathi hospital moments after stabbing to death Wahu in South B area of Nairobi.
Matara had hired a short-term stay apartment in the area and took Wahu who he met on a dating site into the house. Her body was discovered in a pool of blood in the apartment.
Matara came to the limelight after Wahu’s body was found in an apartment they had both booked on January 3.
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Detectives want women who may have been victims of assault and extortion by the suspect to provide information for further probe. A team has been set up at the Regional Criminal Investigations Office in Nairobi to receive the complaints linked to the suspect.
Wahu’s body was discovered on January 4 morning at the fourth floor of an Airbnb in Nairobi’s South B, after the watchman reported seeing the male suspect flee with bloodstained clothes.
The owner of the premises who had let it out to Wahu and Matara for a night used a spare key to unlock the house, which had been locked from the outside, only to stumble on the horrifying scene of the deceased’s body sprawled on the floor.
Matara also sent a message to the room owner saying there was something bad there.
Makadara detectives who were alerted rushed to the scene to find the young woman’s body soaked in a pool of flood, lying midway from the bed towards the main door an indication of an attempt and struggle to call for help.
Examination of the body revealed a stab wound on the head near the left ear, a deep cut on the right thigh and a human bite on the left arm.
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