DCI officers arrest ex-headteacher in Valentine's Day murder mystery probe

The sudden death of Rose Jerono Ng’asura, 53, left Chepkumia village, Nandi County in shock after she was fatally stabbed while sleeping on February 14.

Homicide detectives and criminal investigation officers have been working around the clock for the past two weeks to piece together evidence to determine the culprit behind the death.

Zachariah Ng’asura, the husband of the deceased, and one of their daughters were present at the family home in Chepkumia ward when the tragic event occurred around midnight.

A collage of a Zakaria Ng’asura and his wife Rose Cherono Ng’asura. Pulse Live Kenya

The couple had been in a long-standing domestic conflict, according to the police preliminary report.

The post-mortem examination showed that Jerono was stabbed with a sharp object on the left side of her chest.

“The post-mortem report showed it to be possibly a knife, and we are now pursuing more evidence,” Nandi DCIO Douglas Chikanda said.

The father of six reportedly put his injured wife in his car and claimed that he was taking her to the nearest health centre for emergency medical treatment.

However, a relative told the police that Ng’asura passed by Kapkangani county health centre and stopped at Kapsasur market for nearly an hour while Jerono bled and writhed in pain.

The relative said the nearest hospital that was barely three kilometres from the home, but Ng'asura instead took his injured wife to a private facilty in Kapsabet town, a journey that took three hours.

File image of a police vehicle Pulse Live Kenya

“DCI officers from Kapsabet have arrested the husband of the deceased and they are investigating him as a prime suspect. They want to know why he allegedly asked his wife to move out of their bedroom and sleep in the kitchen the night she was stabbed to death,” the DCI boss said.

Security officials have urged the public in Chepkumia village to come forward with any information that could assist detectives in determining the circumstances that led to the woman’s murder.

Nandi County Assembly Deputy Speaker Wilson Sang appealed to the residents to allow the DCI to conclude investigations into the killing instead of taking the law into their own hands.