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

A man has appeared in court as extradition hearings started in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was murdered near a British forces camp in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, showed up in the Westminster court on Friday, and told the court he intended to contest the deportation. Sources suggest that he was detained on Thursday night.

A warrant for arrest for the defendant was issued by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that the accused had been accused of a single count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan government would request his deportation to stand trial.

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

The victim, twenty-one, a hair stylist who had a infant daughter, went missing after a night out, and her corpse was located 60 days later in the premises of the hotel where she had last been seen.

Nobody had previously been detained or indicted in relation to her demise. His detention followed a new police inquiry, which came after a article in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the newspaper contacted several current and former soldiers in the unit.

The investigation has been led by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, holds legal authority in the legal case.