Ex UK Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenya Woman Shows Up in Courtroom

An individual has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a UK military installation in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is a native of the Manchester area, showed up in the magistrates' court in Westminster on the last 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 the suspect was released by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that the accused had been charged with a sole charge, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would pursue his extradition to face charges.

Purkiss served formerly as a army medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

The victim, 21, a beautician who had a young daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her corpse was located two months later in the premises of the hotel where she had most recently observed.

Nobody had previously been detained or indicted in relation to her death. The arrest of Purkiss was the result of a recent detective probe, which was initiated after a exposé in the year 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication approached several current and former soldiers in the military group.

The investigation has been spearheaded by detectives in Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, holds legal authority in the case.