Ex UK Serviceman Charged of Murdering Kenya Woman Appears in Courtroom

A suspect has appeared in court as extradition hearings began in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is originally from the Manchester area, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and stated to the court he would challenge the extradition request. Reports indicate that he was detained on Thursday evening.

A detention order for Purkiss was released by a Nairobi court in the month of September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that the accused had been charged with a sole charge, of killing, and that the Kenyan government would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

Purkiss served formerly as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the army unit for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her corpse was discovered after two months in the grounds of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

Nobody had earlier been arrested or indicted in relation to her death. His detention was the result of a fresh police investigation, which followed a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication reached out to several current and former soldiers in the military group.

The investigation has been led by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, retains jurisdiction in the matter.