Rita Waeni Died from Strangulation Before Her Body was Decapitated

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Chief Pathologist Johansen Oduor has revealed that JKUAT student Rita Waeni was chocked to death before her body was decapitated.

Oduor made the revelation Thursday after conducting a postmortem examination on the head, believed to be that of the 20-year-old student, at the City Mortuary.

He disclosed that the head that was recovered in Kiambaa on Sunday was cut on the neck and exhibited signs of bruises on the scalp, which he noted could be as a result of being hit with a blunt object.

Additionally, Oduor said that the head had fractures.

“From all these [findings], I can comfortably conclude that what caused the death of that young lady was strangulation, after which she was decapitated and body dumped,” he said.

Detectives recovered the dismembered body of Waeni at an apartment in Roysambu on January 14 after she was reported missing in a murder that has shocked the country.

Her family has since disclosed that her killers demanded a KES 500,000 ransom hours before the discovery of her body stuffed in a polythene bag.

Waeni’s family positively identified the head by inspecting the forehead, hair, and teeth.

Oduor stated samples had been collected for DNA analysis to verify the identity of the head.

“The head is decomposed, and we have to be very sure by using scientific ways of knowing if indeed this belonged to that lady,” he said.

“There are samples we have taken which will undergo DNA just to match the head with the body which we had earlier performed autopsy on.”

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Homicide team is investigating the gruesome murder.

On January 19, Oduor termed the Waeni murder shocking saying he had seen nothing of its kind in his career.

He revealed that both legs were cleanly cut, and that the examination indicated a significant loss of blood, likely occurring post-mortem.

“This is the first time I have come across such an incident. In my forensics life, I have never come across such an incident,” he told reporters.

Oduor further explained that the victim’s skin looked like it was cut with a sharp object, while the bone appeared to have been sawed off with what appeared to be a hacksaw.

He also observed that her killer(s) tried to clip the victim’s fingernails in what he argued could have been an attempt to erase their DNA from the victim.

Samples from the victim’s nails have been collected for further analysis, which could assist detectives in identifying the person responsible for the crime.

Two Nigerian nationals, along with four Kenyans and an individual with a Mozambican passport, are in custody in connection with the gruesome murder.

The suspects are yet to be charged.