Former British Serviceman Charged of Killing Kenyan Woman Appears in Court

An individual has been presented in court as deportation processes began in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a female from Kenya who was killed near a British forces camp in 2012.

Robert Purkiss, thirty-eight, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, appeared before the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and stated to the court he would challenge the extradition request. It is understood that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the defendant was released by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been facing a single count, of killing, and that the Kenyan government would seek his extradition to face charges.

He was once employed as a medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the military regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hair stylist who had a baby daughter, disappeared after a night on the town, and her body was found two months later in the premises of the accommodation where she had most recently observed.

No one had previously been taken into custody or accused in relation to her death. Purkiss’s arrest followed a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a article in the year 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper contacted several current and former soldiers in the regiment.

This inquiry has been headed by Kenyan detectives, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the matter.