Ex British Soldier Accused of Killing Kenya Woman Appears in Courtroom

An individual has appeared in court as extradition proceedings started in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was murdered near a UK military installation in 2012.

Purkiss, 38 years old, who is originally from Greater Manchester, was presented at Westminster magistrates court on the last Friday, and stated to the court he intended to contest the extradition. It is understood that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the defendant was released by a Nairobi court in September. Legal prosecutors informed the Kenyan judiciary that the individual had been charged with a one count, of homicide, and that the government of Kenya would seek his extradition to stand trial.

The defendant served formerly as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the infantry regiment for the English northwest, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Wanjiru, 21, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, disappeared after a night out, and her remains was located 60 days later in the grounds of the lodging where she had last been seen.

Not a single person had before been taken into custody or accused in connection to her passing. Purkiss’s arrest followed a recent detective probe, which was initiated after a exposé in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the newspaper contacted several active and retired troops in the regiment.

The probe has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the legal case.