Night of partying that ended in prison guard's tragic death

newsdesk@standardmedia.co.ke

Caroline Jepchirchir, 22, was expecting a night of fun when she left for Nakuru town accompanied by her two colleagues on April 2, 2019.

Sadly, however, things did not end well. Hours later the Nakuru Women’s Prison warder was found dead, her body was found dumped in a thicket in Githiolo village, Subukia Sub County.

Investigators who have been piecing together the last moments of the slain prison officer say she was last seen at a drinking spot in London estate, Nakuru, with her colleagues on the night she went missing.

Joseph Kairu, one of her colleagues was arrested on April 8 and taken to court on April 10 in relation to Jepchirchir’s disappearance. Kairu appeared before Nakuru Resident Magistrate Wilson Kitur who granted police their request to hold him for 14 days to finalise their investigations.

The other officer said to have been with Jepchirchir and Kairu the night she went missing is still being sought by police.

According to neighbours, Jepchirchir got a call from someone at about 9pm on April 2.

“Carol (Jepchirchir) had dinner with my baby whom I picked at around 8.30pm, but she did not inform me about her plans to go out. I heard her close the door to her house at around 9pm,” said Beth Njeri, a neighbour.

Visible injuries

Jepchirchir is believed to have met her friends, both prison officers, at Woodlands club opposite Lake Oil Petrol Station, approximately one kilometre from her house.

A detective told The Standard that after about an hour, the three left the club in a car driven by one of the suspects.

The vehicle, according to a car tracker, was driven towards Nyahururu town in Nyandarua sub-county via Subukia road. It drove back to Nakuru town and then headed to Subukia.

According to detectives, Jepchirchir differed with one of her male colleagues at the club.

“That is when they drove towards Nyahururu,” said an officer familiar with the investigations.

At around 3am on April 3, the suspects were allegedly seen together and one of them even requested a female officer to allow him take a shower in her house.

The female officer has already recorded a statement with the DCI.

On April 3, at around 3pm, Jepchirchir’s body was found in the thicket at Githiolo and was taken to Nyahururu Hospital morgue by police officers.

Nakuru DCIO David Wangai said the body had visible injuries on the chest and head, caused by a blunt object.

“Police officers from Subukia collected the officer’s body from a bush and took it to Nyahururu. We suspect she was killed on the night of April 2 and dumped there later,” he said.

Jepchirchir’s neighbour claims one of the suspects went to the slain officer’s house on April 3 at around 8.30am and asked about her whereabouts.

On April 4, the same man visited the premise again at 10.30am and allegedly told neighbours that Jepchirchir had sent him to break into her house and pick some documents.

The suspect claimed he had met Jepchirchir at work and that her mobile phone was off.

“His visit raised the alarm that something was amiss and having not seen her for two days, we suspected he was not telling the truth,” said Njeri.

The disappearance was reported at Kiamunyi Police Station (Occurrence Book number 18/05/04/2019).

It was also reported at Nakuru Central Police Station on April 8 by Jepchirchir’s father Michael Chesire.

Investigators and members of her family visited Nyahururu mortuary and identified the body on April 10.

Phone off

The DCIO said the hunt for the missing suspect had intensified. His mobile phone is still switched off. He was last traced to Timborua, Baringo County, last Thursday.

“The investigating team is looking for the suspect. We will flush him out soon from his hideout,” said Wangai.

Although the motive for the killing has not been established, an investigator told The Standard it might have to do with money. It is suspected that Jepchirchir had taken a loan.

“We want to establish what documents the suspect wanted from the deceased’s house and whether it (the killing) is linked to the money,” said Wangai.