A man is on the run after he allegedly killed his wife and five-year-old son in a village in Imenti South, Meru county.
The man identified as B M, who is also said to be a pastor, is suspected to have stabbed the two in the neck, killing them before fleeing.
Mitunguu deputy county commissioner Richard Korn-goren said the incident happened on Saturday morning, adding that the man is yet to be traced and detectives were still looking for him.
The child was found with the knife still on the neck.
Neighbours said the man has had a long feud with his wife since January this year.
“He was acting as a pastor praying for residents. We knew him as a pastor and we are shocked by his actions,” a neighbour said.
The neighbour added that their landlord had served the family with notice to move out of their house for lack of payment of rent.
He said the couple has had feuds for months over, among other issues, financial matters.
Police said they are yet to know the motive of the incident.
The bodies were taken to Kanya-kine Level 4 mortuary as investigations continue.
Elsewhere in Thogotho, Kiambu county, a woman was arrested after poisoning her three children aged six months, four years and three years.
It is suspected that after killing the three children, the mother attempted to hang herself inside her house.
Neighbours said that this might have then failed, since they heard a loud bang in the house and, on arrival, they found her on the floor.
The bodies of the three children laid lifeless on a bed.
After police arrived at the scene, the bodies of the three children were taken to Thogoto hospital mortuary as the mother was arrested and taken to Kikuyu police station.
Neighbours said the woman would often lock herself and her children in their house and lived a very quiet life.
Kikuyu police chief Ronald Kirui said the motive of the murder has not been established, adding that preliminary investigations hint to a family conflict in the home.
Police have started investigations into the matter, and a suicide note that the mother had written will be used.
The homicide detectives will also record a statement from the father of the house who was absent during the incident.