This archive report was first published on 30 June 2019.
On June 30, 2019, a gruesome discovery was made in Gitimbine, Meru, where the body of Joel Kaberia, a 45-year-old butcher, was found in a rental house where he lived with his wife and their two-year-old child.
Body parts of Kaberia were discovered in a gunny bag, leading to the arrest of his wife, Bridget Gacheri, 22, as the first suspect in the case.
According to James Githinji, the Head of Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Imenti North Sub-county, Gacheri and some other individuals had reported Kaberia's disappearance at Meru Police Station before the body was discovered in their house.
“We received a case of a missing person which later turned out to be death. The wife while accompanied by the deceased's friends had reported to us that he (Kaberia) was missing,” Githinji said.
A slaughter who worked with Kaberia reported that they had also informed the police about his disappearance after he missed work and his wife claimed she did not know his whereabouts.
“We suspected something sinister and requested the landlord to allow us to break into the house. We discovered his body cut in pieces,” the slaughter said.
A police officer also revealed that they recovered a hacksaw in the room where the body was found.
Neighbours reported that Kaberia and his wife had been having regular fights, which may have been a motive for the crime.
