Tirop murder case: Suspect to undergo DNA test

Ibrahim Rotich. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

The High Court in Eldoret has ordered that DNA samples be extracted from Ibrahim Rotich, the key suspect in the murder of former World Cross-Country Champion Agnes Tirop.

Justice Robert Wananda directed that the suspect be escorted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Eldoret for the samples to be taken, following a request by the prosecution.

The DNA samples are intended to be used to match with blood-stained clothes that the deceased was wearing on the day she was killed and also a stained knife believed to have been used in the murder at their house in Iten town, Elgeyo Marakwet county.

The prosecution counsel, David Fedha, asked the court to order that Rotich be subjected to the DNA test, saying it would be critical in forming their case and providing exhibits in the murder trial.

Comparing samples

"The samples from the accused will be compared with samples recovered from a knife, which is believed to have been the murder weapon used to kill the deceased, and the blood-stained clothes that the deceased was wearing on the fateful day," Fedha told the court.

Rotich, who is out on a Sh500,000 cash bail, has since denied killing Tirop.

Tirop was found dead in her house on the outskirts of Iten town, Elgeyo Marakwet county, on October 13, 2022.

A postmortem carried out by two pathologists at the Iten County Referral Hospital mortuary revealed Tirop was stabbed in the neck and hit on the head with a blunt object.

She was buried at her parent’s home in Mosoriot, Nandi county, on October 23, 2022.

The case will come up for mention to confirm compliance with the court order.