Ex British Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Court

A suspect has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings started in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a woman of Kenyan origin who was murdered near a UK military installation in 2012.

The accused Robert Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on the last Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition request. Sources suggest that he was taken into custody on Thursday night.

A detention order for Purkiss was released by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in the month of September. The prosecution informed the Kenyan judiciary that the accused had been accused of a one count, of murder, and that the government of Kenya would pursue his extradition to face charges.

He previously worked as a medical attendant with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on tours of Afghanistan.

The victim, twenty-one, a beautician who had a baby daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her remains was discovered two months later in the premises of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

Nobody had before been arrested or indicted in relation to her passing. His detention came after a recent detective probe, which came after a report in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the publication contacted several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

This inquiry has been led by investigators from Kenya, which, under a mutual defense pact, holds legal authority in the legal case.