Familicide that was inspired by a Tv Series (Killing eve)
This is a case that happened in early 2021. There was a lot of media coverage of it in my country. The case got a lot of comments from the citizens. It is still an ongoing case since they have not completed the court proceedings. It astonished even the authorities and brought a lot of controversies with what they aired on the media. This case fascinated me and therefore am writing about it.
This case is about the Kiambu county Warunges family killings that were inspired by the tv series Killing Eve
TV SERIES: KILLING EVE
Before I go into the case, I have to summarize the series. Killing eve is a spy thriller series where Eve Polastri, British intelligence that has a fascination for female assassins. She later has a chance encounter with one of the most notorious female assassins, Villanelle. She will have the challenging task of capturing her. They released it in April 2018 and so far has three seasons. The series was created by Phoebe Walter Bridge and is based on Jennings’s novella.
FAMILY BIOGRAPHY
Nicholas Njoroge Warunge was born on 10th October 1966. Annie Wanjiku Njoroge was born on 11th November 1965. We have no information on when they tied the knot. They had four children who were Lawrence Warunge was born in 1998, Joyce Njeri was born in 2001, Grace Karagi was born in 2006, and Christian Njenga was born in 2007.
Nicholas Njoroge was a US-based business person while his wife Annie was a psychologist nurse in Kiambu county.
nephew: Maxwell Njenga
Maxwell Njenga was the nephew of both Nicholas and Annie. We have scarce information in regards to him.
On Tuesday 5th January 2021, four members of the Warunge family and a farmhand (whose house was next to Warunge’s house) were stabbed to death.
Bodies discovered
On 6th January 2021, one farmhand named Stephen Njehu went to Warunge’s home. When he arrived, he first went to his colleague, only to find his colleague’s lifeless body in a pool of blood. The farmhand found dead was James Kinyanjui. Stephen called his boss, who informed the police. When the police came in, they found five bodies. The bodies discovered were Nicholas Njoroge, Annie Wanjiku, Christian Njenga, Maxwell Njenga, and the farmhand James Kinyanjui.
They assumed outsiders broke into their homes and killed the family. They also assumed the murder occurred because of a land tussle. Neighbors knew there was one member of the family that was not accounted for, and they informed the authorities. The member was 22 years old, Lawrence Warunge. At that time he was pursuing a degree in business. They assumed the killers had kidnapped him. Authorities knew they needed to get into work and do their investigation to get justice for this family. Just to note, this is not the first time they killed a family member. In the year 2018, Nicholas’s brother got shot and killed.
The investigation
The police first needed to track the whereabouts of Lawrence Warunge. After a thorough investigation, they tracked him to Naivasha. Once found, he then confessed to everything.
The confession
Lawrence confessed to the killings and that he did it alone. This was a twisted plot since the police at first thought they were looking for three suspects. He later stated that he had planned to kill his entire family, and he took three months to plan. Since his sisters were in school, he couldn't kill them. He told the authorities Killing Eve inspired the familicide specifically the character Villanelle.
Lawrence claimed he wasn’t being given enough love, care, and attention by his parents and his siblings didn’t understand, which led them to side with his parents. These are the reasons he committed the gruesome murders. He claimed he had planned to kill his parents 3 times, but the plans got aborted. The third aborted plan was on 2nd January 2021, which was three days before the killings. On that day, he planned to use his girlfriend as an alibi by ensuring his girlfriend got drunk to the extent of passing out so that he may go kill his family with carbon monoxide. According to the senior detective on the case, the suspect alleged his parents were out to kill him.
The cold-hearted murder
Lawrence Warunge asked his girlfriend to buy him a knife at Thika. According to K24, it was a nine-inch knife with a metallic handle. This knife is among the evidence. He bought lady shoes at Thika, which he wore at the murder scene.
When he first arrived at his family home, he met James Kinyanjui. He then asked for a metal rod. James suspected nothing. Caught unawares, he hit him several times on the head using the metal rod, then went on slitting his throat using the knife.
He then remained at the first crime scene until his father arrived home at 8 pm. Just to note, His father came from US a fortnight before his murder to celebrate the holidays. He surveyed the parameter of the wall and jumped into the compound. Once he was in , he spotted his mother and switched off the lights at the master switch.
His next move was to set a paper on fire so that he may attract the attention of his mother. The mother could smell the smoke which led to her going outside to find out what was going on. On her arrival, the suspect hit his mother at the back of the head with a metal rod, which made her fall unconscious on the ground. The suspect then stabbed her. The father had the commotion while he was upstairs and went to check, only to find his son armed. He ran away hence leading the suspect on pursuit. The father jumped from the balcony to escape his son, but unfortunately; he got injured. The suspect caught up with his father, stabbed him, and slit his throat. He killed his nephew Maxwell Njenga by stabbing him. He then found his brother hiding under the bed. The brother begged him to spare his life, but he did not want to hear of it.
After the murder
After the murder, the suspect showered and served the meal his mother was cooking. He later sat down and watched a Tv show. After sleeping on his father's bed, he left the scene. He then went to Naivasha and later on went to Mai Mahiu, where he discarded some of his clothes, shoes, and his parents’ belonging and then went to Lower Kabete, where. They arrested him there. The girlfriend (Sarah Muthoni) was also arrested since they considered her as an accomplice to the crime.
After Lawrence’s confession, they escorted him to Mai Mahiu, where he disposed of the evidence.
The Autopsy
They did an autopsy on the family and the farmhand, to gather more evidence, including DNA. Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor conducted the autopsy. According to Dr. Oduor, the only person who could block the attacks was the mother since she had broken arms. He, later on, stated that the brother Christian Njenga and the father Nicholas Njenga suffered the most injuries. Cause of death was blunt force trauma, penetrating trauma, and loss of a significant amount of blood. He, later on, stated that the injuries were similar, hence the same weapon was in use.
They laid the family to rest on 16th January 2021. They laid James Kinyanjui to rest on 13th January 2021 at Gathiga cemetery.
They arraigned the two suspects in court and the detectives urged the court not to release them on bail since they are a potential flight risk and they would cause harm to the remaining two survivors who are the sisters. The judge detained them and ordered a mental assessment of the two suspects. On 26th January, the suspect, Lawrence Warunge, was considered to be unfit to stand trial.
Another mental test was done, and they submitted the report on 1st March 2021.On April 13th, 2021. Lawrence Warunge was declared fit to stand trial. Two days after they declared him fit, they arraigned him virtually before Kiambu High court judge, Mary Kasongo. He pleaded not guilty and denied the allegation against him even though he confessed to it.
They detained the suspect at Industrial Area Remand Prison. His pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 11th May 2021. They have released no updates.
My thoughts
First, anytime I look back at this case, I get some chills, not only chills, I became fearful. I believe the suspect is a narcissist and a sociopath. He only thought of himself. If proven guilty, I believe they should sentence him to death and, if not death, life imprisonment. They should serve justice for these five victims. I won’t comment on the girlfriend who is the second suspect since information about her involvement is yet to be released.
I pass thee my condolences to the victims’ families. God is your comforter and He will give you peace in your hearts.
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