Former British Serviceman Accused of Murdering Kenyan Female Shows Up in Court

A suspect has appeared in court as extradition proceedings started in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was killed near a British forces camp in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester, showed up in Westminster magistrates court on Friday, and told the court he would challenge the extradition. Reports indicate that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

An arrest warrant for the suspect was released by a Nairobi court in September. Legal prosecutors informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been charged with a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to answer to accusations.

The defendant previously worked as a army medic with the Lancaster Regiment, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a baby daughter, went missing after a evening out, and her body was found 60 days later in the grounds of the hotel where she had most recently observed.

Not a single person had before been detained or charged in connection to her death. The arrest of Purkiss followed a fresh police investigation, which followed a article in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the media outlet approached several current and former soldiers in the military group.

This inquiry has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, retains jurisdiction in the legal case.