The main suspect in the gruesome murder of National Land Commission’s acting Communication Director Jennifer Wambua Itumbi has been arrested and placed in custody.

This was announced Friday by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which named Peter Mwangi Njenga alias Ole Sankale as the main suspect alongside others who are still at large.

DCI says its homicide detectives made the arrest together with the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), Cyber Crime, Scenes of Crime and Special Service Unit (SSU).

According to the directorate headed by George Kinoti, the detectives placed Mwangi at the scene of crime through criminal intelligence collected through forensic investigation.

DCI says its officers found eyewitnesses who saw the suspect with the deceased on March 12 when she went missing and also collected crucial evidence from the murder scene.

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The exhibits collected from the scene were positively matched to Mwangi after a forensic examination.

It was also revealed that Jennifer’s body was found half-naked by detectives, who suspect she was sexually assaulted before being killed.

According to an autopsy report from the Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor, confirmed there was sexual contact between the deceased and those behind her murder.

Witnesses and forensic investigation established that the main suspect interacted and spent a bit of time with the deceased NLC boss at the location where her body was later found.

DCI Headquarters. 

The area where her body was found is a favourite spot for Christian pilgrims and police say the suspect preyed on her as she prayer, sexually assaulted her strangled her to death.

Police say Mwangi has been convicted before for similar offences after being linked to robberies where victims are sexually assaulted before being killed as his modus operandi.

Detectives are now linking the suspect, who has a criminal record, a number of reported crimes of a similar nature in the same area where the body was found.

In 1996, police say, Mwangi was charged with stealing and three counts of robbery with violence and rape, and in January 15, 2003, he was convicted and sentenced to death at Kibera law courts and it is unclear how he managed to escape from the law.