Ex UK Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Court

A man has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was murdered near a UK military installation in the year 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is hailing from the Manchester area, appeared before Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and told the court he would challenge the extradition. It is understood that he was taken into custody on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for the suspect was issued by a court in Nairobi in the month of September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been accused of a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would pursue his extradition to answer to accusations.

The defendant previously worked as a army medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

The victim, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, went missing after a evening out, and her remains was discovered 60 days later in the area of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been arrested or charged in connection to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss came after a new police inquiry, which was initiated after a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

The investigation has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, retains jurisdiction in the case.