Slain JKUAT student Rita Waeni died a brutal death, according to details from her autopsy report by Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor.
The autopsy report released on Thursday, January 25, 2024, shows her cause of death was ruled to be strangulation before her head was chopped off at the neck. Her scalp was also bruised with a blunt object.
"The main findings were that the head had been chopped off from the neck at the level of C5 (vertebrae on the neck) We also saw some fractures on bones,” Oduor said following the conclusion of a postmortem examination at City Mortuary, Nairobi.
Adding; “I can comfortably conclude that the cause of death was strangulation after which she was decapitated and her body dumped.”
Rita Waeni's family positively identified the human head that had been recovered from a dam in Kiambaa, Kiambu County through her forehead.
The head was later found wrapped in a purple female blouse and then put in a green carrier bag with a stone in it.
A missing mobile phone that belonged to the deceased was also recovered at the scene.
The dismembered body of the 20-year-old Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student was discovered at an apartment along TRM Drive in Roysambu on Sunday, January 14, 2024.
According to Rita Waeni's family, the fourth-year student was lured by his killer to the residential area before she was murdered in cold blood.
In a statement, the family said the killer demanded Ksh500,000 ransom for her release.
According to the family, Waeni left home to visit a friend. However, on Sunday at around five in the morning, the father received a message from her daughter's phone number, demanding Ksh500,000 as ransom.
The message directed that money be sent within 24 hours.
Later, the family reported the matter to the police for investigation.
“With this message, the family reported the matter to the police and DCI, and investigations began,” the family stated in a statement noting at least two more messages demanding a ransom were sent.
According to the family, they were not given time to respond to the messages and maintains more messages were sent after she was killed.
“Unfortunately, the family did not get further details about the ransom or an opportunity to explore this route. Additionally, some demands were made when she had already been murdered,” Rita Waeni's family said.
“We believe she was lured by her killer, who also tried to extort money from her family, even after killing her,” the family added.
Rita Waeni's body parts were discovered inside a trash bag in the apartment by the caretaker with her head missing.
Police have since arrested three suspects who are helping them with investigations.
