Police probe mysterious death of Garden City Mall boss wife

NAIROBI, KENYA: Police have opened an investigation into the death of the wife of Garden City Mall Managing Director. She died at their Muthangari home in Nairobi.

Police suspect Atehortua Maria, 43, committed suicide in their home on Wednesday morning.

Her British husband James Coulson, told police that he left home at 7.30am on Wednesday, and returned 15 minutes later after dropping their children at school.

“He found the bathroom locked. He tried to call her but she did not answer. He took a spare key and unlocked the door only to find the body hanging with a rope around the neck. He called their private doctor who pronounced her dead,” police said.

The Colombian woman had been suffering from depression for a while, neigbours said.

Coulson told police when he returned he did not find the wife in their bedroom or living room.

He, however, noticed a few moments later that she was in the bathroom, except she overstayed there, prompting him to go and check what was going on. On realizing there was no response from inside the bathroom, Coulson used a spare key to open the door and found his wife hanging on a rope tied around her neck.

He called their private doctor, who confirmed Maria was already dead. The police officer visited the scene moments later and moved the body to Lee Funeral home awaiting postmortem.

According to Nairobi police boss Joseph Ole Tito, the deceased never left any suicide note.

A statement from Garden City Mall management confirmed the tragic death of the Managing Director’s wife.

“We share heartfelt condolences with him and his family at this tragic time and ask everyone to please respect the family’s privacy,” read the report.