Alice Wagikuyu Njoroge the main suspect in the murder of six family members from Nguthuru in Kandara Murang'a will remain in police custody for the next 21 days to give investigators time to delve deeper into the matter.
Wagikuyu was arraigned at the Kandara law courts being accused of an arson attack that led to the death of the six namely; Mary Wambui,60, Cecilia Gathoni,30, Lucy Mumbi,18, Margaret Wanna,15, seven-year-old Jackline Wambui, and Alvin Kiarie aged three years.
Kennedy Wainaina investigating officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation homicide department through an affidavit said there is compelling evidence to hold the suspect accountable for the act.
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He said the investigating team processed the scene and recovered suspected accelerants from the suspect's bedroom and used matchsticks giving an indication of her involvement in the arson.
Further, he said the six were unable to leave their bedroom as the door had been locked from outside which could only be done by a person within the house giving an inference that the suspect was involved.
The officer said he is pursuing different theories which could have led to the incident among them being a dispute over the succession of their father's property and aggravated sibling rivalry.
Wainaina also said some of the key witnesses in the case are minors who need counselling before recording their statements. Also, other witnesses who are relatives and close relatives of the deceased are yet to record their statements.
The officer also said the mobile phones recovered from the suspect are yet to be analyzed and the postmortem examination of the bodies needs to be conducted.
Principal magistrate Erick Mutunga granted the application and ordered the suspect to be detained at Kabati police station until her next court appearance on May 2, 2022.
Wagikuyu is believed to have set the house on fire on Saturday night.
