A 24-year-old man suspected to have stabbed his cousin to death in Masalani, Ijara subcounty in Garissa was on Sunday afternoon arrested by police.
The suspect is reported to have stabbed the cousin, a 14-year-old girl, five times in the stomach and neck, killing her on the spot.
Confirming the incident, Masalani OCS James Mulanda said the suspects fled after killing the Grade 7 student at her home at Terrabora estate in Masalani Town, Ijara subcounty Garissa County on Friday evening and went into hiding.
Mulanda said according to reports, the suspect had waylaid the girl when she went to the toilet and attacked her with a dagger as she was coming out.
The Grade 7 girl reportedly shouted for help before she was killed but by the time the neighbours arrived, they found her with clothes soaked in blood and more of it strewn all over the area.
They took her to Masalani subcounty hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
“The cause of the attack is yet to be established, although members of his family allege the suspect is of unsound mind,” the OCS said.
The suspect has reportedly been hiding in the bush since the incident when residents spotted him in a bush at Terrabora Estate Primary School and notified the police resulting in his immediate arrest.
The body was taken for postmortem examination and was buried at Masalani Muslim Cemetery on Saturday afternoon.
Mulanda said the suspect was being held in Masalani police custody but was to be transferred to Hola Court in Tana River County on January 20, 2025, where murder charges were to be conferred against him.
A 15-year-old girl was stabbed and killed in a toilet by an assailant who escaped in Torabora village, Ijara, Garissa County.
The assailant who is known to the girl is said to have trailed her to a toilet and stabbed her in the head and chest killing her.
Police said they are yet to establish the motive of the January 14 incident.
The girl was a distant sister to the assailant, police said.
According to police, locals heard screams from the toilet at about 3 pm and rushed to the scene only to stumble over the body of the girl in a pool of blood.
She had been stabbed five times in the left side of the check inflicting deep cuts.
The victim was rushed to Ijara Level Four Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The assailant escaped the scene soon after the tragedy and efforts to trace him are ongoing, police said.
The body was moved to the local mortuary pending autopsy and further investigations.
Police combed the scene in an effort to recover the killer's weapon in vain.
