Buruburu c*r fire: Fresh details emerge

Homicide detectives have taken up the case of a car fire incident that left a 36-year-old Buruburu man dead on Wednesday, April 29, K24 Digital has learnt from credible DCI sources.

The fact that the matter has been handed over to the homicide team from the area DCI unit indicates that police could be treating the death of Terance Korir as murder, unless further probe counters the persuasion.

This comes even as a postmortem examination on Korir is scheduled for Monday or Tuesday next week, K24 Digital has learnt.

With the case now pushed to sleuths whose key work is to investigate the ultimate crime -- murder -- what should we expect?

When authorities suspect a victim was murdered, or someone reports a murder incident, homicide detectives are usually sent out to evaluate the crime scene.

They work together to examine the scene, talk with witnesses, and check for and collect evidence. Homicide detectives, in most instances, interview witnesses and suspects. The sooner detectives act on information and evidence, the better their chances of solving a murder.

Effective teamwork between detectives and the police is one of the main ways that law enforcement officers are able to solve murders.

The homicide detective in charge of the murder scene has certain duties and responsibilities. They include: taking control of the crime scene and examining the victim, conducting a walk-through; being careful not to disturb any evidence, and making a permanent record of the scene, photographing or videotaping the scene; conducting a thorough crime scene search; making a rough sketch; dusting for fingerprints; identifying, documenting and collecting trace evidence, fluids and fibers; and controlling evidence to maintain its integrity, canvassing the area to identify and locate witnesses and proper handling of suspects to minimise legal roadblocks to a successful prosecution.

“So far, our forensic investigators have been able to collect samples from the vehicle, and we have sent the samples to the government laboratories for forensic analysis so that we can be able to conclusively reveal the cause of the inferno,” Buruburu DCIO, Adan Guyo, told K24 Digital on Wednesday, April 29.

K24 Digital has since learnt that examination of the samples is ongoing, with detectives also keen on what will come out of Korir’s postmortem exercise next week.

Then, why are they not ruling out murder as the cause of Korir’s death, yet there is no conclusive indicator that he was killed?

“We don’t want to take chances. What if the forensic analysis results that will be released, probably, next week show that someone else caused the fire that killed Korir? Do you expect that we should start looking into murder leads that late; one week later? No, we would rather over-investigate than under-investigate. If anything, if we assume the victim died in a normal fire accident, and fail to seal off the scene, then later it emerges that he was killed, we would have given the person who caused his death ample time to interfere with the scene,” said a top DCI source.

The detectives’ concerns come on the back of multiple questions posed by other investigators, who questioned the sitting posture that Korir was found in.

“His sitting position clearly showed he did not struggle to leave the car. In normal fire situations, people try to flee the scene. Korir did not. If it was indeed a fire accident that started in the engine compartment, then his bonnet would have exploded. But, his engine remained intact. Only the interior of his vehicle was badly damaged. That is a quite strange car fire incident,” said another detective.

Police have thus far interrogated Korir’s wife, Ruth Wanjiru, 29, and the deceased’s other family members.

“In such investigations, close family members can be called to record even up to four statements,” said Buruburu police boss, Adamson Bungei.

The Late Korir is survived by his wife and two children aged 3 and 1.

Bungei, on April 29 told K24 Digital that the fire broke out after Terance Korir ignited the engine of his car.

Korir, a dweller of Mai Mahiu Court on Katulo Road, was preparing to leave for work at 8:30am Wednesday, April 29, when the incident happened, said Bungei.

“It is strange how the vehicle’s interior was the only part that was destroyed by the explosion,” Bungei told K24 Digital.

Area DCIO, Adan Guyo, said neighbours and two fire engines from Nairobi County helped in putting out the fire, though by the time they were arriving at the scene, Korir had already succumbed to his burn injuries.

The vehicle, a Subaru Impreza, had been parked at the Mai Mahiu Court yard near House Number 465, police said.

“We must ascertain what caused the fire; we want to know whether someone else plotted the incident, or not,” emphasised Guyo.

The occupant of the car, Korir, was burnt beyond recognition, a report filed at the Buruburu Police Station by the Chairman of Mai Mahiu Court on Katulo Road, Cyrus Chege, said.

The body of the victim was moved to a Nairobi morgue.