Expectant mother, daughter murdered in Nyamira, Kenya

Residents of Bocharia village in Nyamira County, were left in awe after a bizarre murder of an expectant mother and her two-year-old daughter.

Asenath Kerubo, 26, and her daughter were murdered on Thursday night, a crime that has left the entire family and village in shock. Kerubo was eight-months pregnant.

A nephew to the deceased, a Form Three student at a nearby secondary school who stayed with family, has gone missing since the incident.

Kerubo's body was found under the bed in a room where her nephew had been sleeping. An eye witness said the body was wrapped in a sack and covered with bedsheets. The body of the daughter, was on top of the same bed with a rope around her neck.

There were blood stains in the main bedroom. The house looked messy with clothes scattered all over, a sign that there was commotion before the murder occurred.

According to one of the neighbours who sought anonymity, there was commotion in the house between 9pm and 11pm but afterwards, everything went silent.

"We heard murmurs in the house but nobody opened the door. We only realised there was a problem when the husband called one of the neighbours," said the source.

A close family friend told The Saturday on Standard that the family had been quarreling since Kerubo discovered she was carrying a baby girl. A document that found in the bedroom, which family members believe has been the source of conflict, indicated that Kerubo had gone for a scan on March 3, in a private hospital in Kisii to determine the sex of the baby.

A senior police officer who stays in the same compound, could not be reached for comment but according to the landlord, Charles Mosongo, the family has lived there peacefully since they rented the house.

"I heard the husband, Joash Marube, calling for help at around 1am, and I immediately woke up and walked to the compound. We found him locked in the house. He claimed that somebody had locked him in the house after killing his wife and daughter. We broke the door to get him out," said Mosongo.

Mosongo, who leaves a few metres from the house, said the door was locked from inside even as Marube claimed he had no key to the house.

"On entering, we found the bodies in the children's bedroom. We called the police who took the bodies to Gucha Hospital mortuary in Keroka," said Mosongo.

The body of the mother had a deep cut on the head with bruises around her neck.

 An uncle to Asenath, Patrick Osero, said the family is devastated.

"We have no idea why this happened. It is a terrible loss."

He called for independent investigations on the deaths.