Ex British Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Woman Appears in Courtroom

A suspect has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a UK military installation in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from the Manchester area, was presented at the Westminster court on the last Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the extradition. Sources suggest that he was arrested on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was authorized by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been charged with a single count, of killing, and that the government of Kenya would request his deportation to face charges.

Purkiss was once employed as a medical attendant with the Lancaster Regiment, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

The victim, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, disappeared after a night out, and her remains was found 60 days later in the area of the lodging where she had most recently observed.

Nobody had earlier been taken into custody or charged in relation to her demise. His detention was the result of a fresh police investigation, which followed a report in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication reached out to several active and retired troops in the regiment.

This inquiry has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, retains jurisdiction in the matter.