Slain taxi driver Victoria Mumbua Muloki was repeatedly struck by a blunt object before being strangled to death, a post-mortem report revealed.
Government pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor, who conducted the post-mortem at the City Mortuary also revealed that the mother of three tried to fight off the assailant.
Dr Oduor said her body had physical injuries, implying her killer was intentional.
The injuries on her hands also suggested she tried to protect herself or fight back.
He added that further tests were being conducted on additional samples, which are crucial for investigators to decipher the crime.
They want to know if there was any form of poisoning or sexual assault on the deceased.
A suspect is in custody in connection with the murder.
Muloki went missing on September 27 from Mombasa before her body was discovered in the Lari area, Kiambu County two days later and more than 400 kilometres away.
The suspect, Edwin Ng'etich, has since led detectives to various locations, including Mt. Elgon, Butere, Uasin Gishu, and Nakuru, where police have recovered five motor vehicles he was linked to.
The vehicles were taken away from the owners after the murder.
Police are investigating the recoveries.
It is believed Ng'etich abducted the owners of these vehicles before stealing their cars.
In July 2014, he is alleged to have abducted and killed taxi driver George Njuguna.
Njuguna operated in Kisii. Ng'etich faces two murder charges and two robberies with violence charges involving taxi drivers.
Police suspect that after abducting his victims, Ng'etich would use their motor vehicles to transport drugs or refugees as part of a human trafficking syndicate.
The team plans to revisit the route the suspect used from Mombasa through Kibwezi, Nairobi, Lari and later Nakuru as part of the probe into the murder of Muloki.
The suspect has been linked to at least two other similar past murder incidents.
In his confession, according to police, N'getich told police that on September 27, while in Mombasa, he requested a ride from Muloki and she accepted.
Midway through the journey, he attacked her, assaulted her multiple times, and tied her to the back seat of the car. He then took control of the vehicle and drove toward Nairobi.
While passing through Kibwezi, the woman pleaded for her release which angered the assailant.
He stopped the car, strangled her to death, and continued driving with her body, he told police.
Ng'etich eventually drove to Mai Mahiu and dumped her body in a thicket near Lari, Kiambu County.
After disposing of the victim's body, he drove her car to Nakuru, where he was arrested.
Police said Muloki, 35 was driving the salon car when she disappeared.
The driver's last communication, according to police, was when she was in Samburu, Kwale County.
Samburu town is located about 66 kilometres from Mombasa Central Business District.
Muloki's disappearance was reported at theMakupa Police Station in Mombasa by her mother.
It was later traced to Nakuru as police intensified their search for the woman who had succeeded in the male-dominated taxi business.
Detectives believe the motive of the murder was the car the woman was driving.
“This suspect seems to be a serial killer targeting taxi drivers. We will get more,” said an officer aware of the probe.