Probe as man suspected of killing lover dies by suicide

The bodies of Catherine Wangari, 39, and Charles Githinji, 43, were discovered at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

According to Wangari’s brother, Nicholas Muchiri, he had gone to call on his sister as they planned to travel together to Muthigini Shopping Centre.

After repeated knocks on the door went unanswered, Muchiri entered the house and found Wangari lying in a pool of blood on her bed, while Githinji was hanging from the roof.

Muchiri said the two were close friends and that Githinji, who hailed from Gathunguri village, about five kilometres from Cieni, occasionally spent nights at Wangari’s home.

One of Githinji’s sons said the family had not seen him for the past three weeks.

“I was called by villagers who informed me that my father was hanging inside Wangari’s bedroom,” he said.

Neighbours expressed shock over the incident.

Grace Kuthii, a neighbour, said Wangari lived alone and was well known in the area.

“At around 1 p.m., we discovered that Githinji had hanged himself in Wangari’s bedroom while Wangari was lying in a pool of blood,” Kuthii said.

Another neighbour, Susan Waruguru, said villagers raised the alarm before the bodies were discovered.

“I was shocked to find Wangari dead and Githinji hanging inside the house using an electric wire,” she said.

Kuthii further claimed the two had recently been involved in disputes over a coffee bonus payout.

“They had disagreements over the coffee bonus for the past two weeks, but they recently appeared to have resolved the issue after spending the money,” she said.

The bodies were moved to the mortuary as detectives from Gichugu Sub-County launched investigations into the incident.