Former British Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenya Female Shows Up in Courtroom

A man has appeared in court as extradition hearings began in the legal matter of Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is originally from the Manchester area, showed up in the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and told the court he planned to fight the deportation. Sources suggest that he was taken into custody on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was authorized by a court in Nairobi in September. The state attorneys told the Kenyan court that the accused had been facing a single count, of killing, and that the Kenyan government would request his deportation to face charges.

He previously worked as a army medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the army unit for the English northwest, including on missions to Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, disappeared after a night on the town, and her remains was discovered after two months in the area of the hotel where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been detained or accused in relation to her death. The arrest of Purkiss came after a new police inquiry, which was initiated after a article in the year 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the publication contacted several current and former soldiers in the military group.

The investigation has been spearheaded by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the matter.