Ex British Soldier Accused of Murdering Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Court

An individual has appeared in court as deportation processes started in the investigation of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is originally from Greater Manchester, appeared before the Westminster court on Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition. Reports indicate that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the suspect was released by a Nairobi court in September. The state attorneys stated before the Kenyan court that the individual had been charged with a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would pursue his extradition to face charges.

The defendant was once employed as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the northwestern England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, twenty-one, a hair stylist who had a baby daughter, went missing after a night out, and her corpse was found 60 days later in the premises of the accommodation where she had most recently observed.

No one had previously been arrested or indicted in connection to her demise. His detention came after a fresh police investigation, which followed a exposé in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the media outlet contacted several active and retired troops in the unit.

This inquiry has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, maintains prosecutorial power in the matter.