Former UK Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Appears in Court

A suspect has shown up before a judge as extradition hearings began in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British army base in the year 2012.

Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is a native of Greater Manchester, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition request. It is understood that he was detained on Thursday evening.

An arrest warrant for Purkiss was issued by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The state attorneys told the Kenyan court that the individual had been accused of a sole charge, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would seek his extradition to stand trial.

The defendant previously worked as a medical attendant with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, twenty-one, a beautician who had a young daughter, disappeared after a night on the town, and her remains was found 60 days later in the premises of the hotel where she had last been seen.

No one had earlier been detained or charged in association with her death. Purkiss’s arrest followed a recent detective probe, which followed a report in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the publication approached several current and former soldiers in the military group.

This inquiry has been spearheaded by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, maintains prosecutorial power in the case.