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

An individual has been presented in court as deportation processes commenced in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was murdered near a UK military installation in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, was presented at the magistrates' court in Westminster on Friday, and informed the court he would challenge the deportation. It is understood that he was detained on Thursday evening.

A warrant for arrest for the suspect was released by a court in Nairobi in September. Legal prosecutors informed the Kenyan judiciary that Purkiss had been facing a single count, of killing, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to face charges.

He was once employed as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the military regiment for the northwestern England, including on deployments in Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21 years old, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her corpse was found after two months in the premises of the lodging where she had last been seen.

No one had before been arrested or indicted in relation to her demise. The arrest of Purkiss came after a fresh police investigation, which was initiated after a report in 2021 by a Sunday newspaper, in which the media outlet reached out to several active and retired troops in the unit.

The investigation has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, retains jurisdiction in the matter.