Ex UK Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenya Female Shows Up in Court

A man has shown up before a judge as extradition proceedings commenced in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was found dead near a British army base in 2012.

Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester, showed up in the Westminster court on Friday, and told the court he would challenge the deportation. Sources suggest that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for Purkiss was authorized by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that the individual had been charged with a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would seek his extradition to face charges.

The defendant was once employed as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the infantry regiment for the northwestern England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a baby daughter, disappeared after a night out, and her remains was discovered after two months in the area of the hotel where she had last been seen.

Nobody had earlier been taken into custody or charged in connection to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss was the result of a recent detective probe, which came after a article in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the unit.

The probe has been led by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, maintains prosecutorial power in the case.