Kirinyaga man sought for killing wife and children found dead

Kiringa Bar and Restaurant in Kutus town,Kirinyaga County Sammy Mulwa (righht in a black T-shirt) who served Erastus Kibage Mwangi with his last meal on Friday evening before he commuted suicide later in the night to escape arrest over the murder of his entire family in Kiambu. He is seated at the vey table where the deceased feasted on the the goat meat PHOTO/MUNENE KAMAU/STANDARD DATE:June 4/2017

A matatu driver suspected of killing his family has been found dead at a restaurant in Kutus town, Kirinyaga County.

The body of Erastus Mwangi, 44, whom police were seeking in connection with the death of his wife and two children in Kiambu County last week, was found dangling from a rope in a lodging room.

It is believed that the man, said to have been running away from the law, might have felt trapped after his image was splashed on television as the police intensified the search for him.

The police said Mwangi was on their list of wanted persons.

RUNNING AWAY

Mwangi reportedly went to Kiringa Bar and Restaurant at 4.30pm and ordered half-a kilogramme of goat meat and paid Sh240.

A hotel attendant, Sammy Mulwa, said Mwangi appeared restless.

“He signalled me and placed his order but I could see that he was restless. I served him the meat, which he ate without ugali, and left,” Mulwa said.

He added: “Shortly after 7pm, he came back and asked if I could serve him the same meal. He had changed into a white T-shirt. I told him I had no ready meat left. I asked if he could wait so I could prepare some for him but he hurriedly left.”

Mulwa said he was shocked on Saturday morning to learn that Mwangi had been found dead in his lodging room at Kiringa Bar and Restaurant, for which he had paid Sh300. 

Lewis Mwai, an attendant at the lodging, said Mwangi had a black polythene bag when he paid for the room.

POLYTHENE BAG

“I only found out the following day that the client had committed suicide. I was surprised when one of our attendants, Julia Wangithi, came from his room screaming. She came to my office and told me she had peeped through a window and seen a body dangling from a rope,” said Mwai.

Wangithi said she knocked on the door several times but there was no response. She saw the body when she peeped through the broken window to see if the room was still occupied.

“A senior officer from a nearby police patrol station entered the room and said the body was that of Mwangi, whose photo had been circulated by officers in Kiambu,” she said.

The officers later informed their counterparts in Kiambu and the body was taken away. They officers found Mwangi’s national identity card, driving licence, two ATM cards, and a mobile phone.

After killing his family, the man was said to have locked the bodies in the house and disappeared.