Shakahola death toll hits 303 as detectives exhume 19 more bodies

No rescues were made on Tuesday as the third phase of staking out mass graves in Shakahola forest, a 325-hectare (800-acre) bushland inland from the Indian Ocean town of Malindi, entered its second week.

While starvation appears to be the leading cause of death, autopsies conducted by the government revealed that some of the victims, including children, were strangled, beaten, or suffocated.

Some 95 people have been rescued from the forest, while the number of those reported missing was 613, according to police records.

Police believe most of the bodies belong to Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, a taxi driver-turned-preacher who is accused of inciting them to starve to death "to meet Jesus".