Tragic double death mystery in Kabete: A mother and son’s eternal bond

By Wanja Waweru

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is investigating a double homicide that occurred in Kabete, Kiambu County (DCI).

The deceased is a woman, Ruth Karuga, and her 11-year-old son Francis Kinyanjui.

According to the DCI investigators, Karuga may have poisoned her kid before committing suicide.

“A postmortem is yet to be conducted on the bodies of the two but officers believe that poison was involved in the deaths,” said an officer privy to the ongoing investigations.

According to the family, Karuga was diagnosed with depression in 2017–2018 and was subsequently sent to a hospital for therapy.

According to the mother, Ms. Grace Nyambura, Karuga’s diagnosis had a significant impact on the entire family.

It has been established that she was admitted to the hospital for some time, and the family even fundraised with the aim of footing hospital bills.

“My daughter was doing well and she was always jovial, I am also shocked with what transpired. I can tell you for sure we all believed that she had overcome it all,” said Ms Nyambura, the mother to the deceased.

She claimed that Ms. Karuga was with the family in December 2022, and they were having a good time. Since that time, she has maintained contact with them all without ever mentioning any difficulties in her personal life.

According to neighbors and family, Ms. Karuga was very close to her son, and she frequently brought her out.

When the son graduated from Kindergarten and joined Primary School, Karuga was proud of his milestone that she even shared the image of the progression on Facebook, which she captured with the words “Happy graduation my son. Mum loves you so much.”

Karuga took her son swimming after she graduated, and a number of pictures of this event were taken.

The friendship eventually led to what the authorities believe to be a murder-suicide years later.

According to a police report we have in our possession, Ms. Nyambura reported their death to the authorities because she was worried about her daughter’s quiet. She wasn’t returning phone calls or text messages, either.

Ms. Nyambura, a technical staff member at Nyathuna Level Four Hospital, became worried when her daughter went missing on January 23, 2023.

“On arrival at the house, Ms Nyambura peeped through the window as the main door was closed from inside and she saw her lying on the floor besides the bed. It is then that she raised alarm and police were informed of what had transpired,” the report filed at Kibiku Police Post read in part.

The second son’s body was discovered on the mother’s bed when the police arrived and smashed down the door.

According to the police, neither body was physically hurt, and there were no indications of a struggle inside the residence.

Officers and detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) inspected the scene before transporting the body to the Kihara Sub County Hospital morgue for a postmortem.

The results of the autopsy will help identify the couple’s cause of death, according to a Kabete-based detective who is familiar with the case.