Former British Soldier Charged of Killing Kenya Female Appears in Courtroom

A man has appeared in court as extradition hearings commenced in the investigation of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a female from Kenya who was found dead near a British forces camp in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is originally from Greater Manchester region, was presented at the Westminster court on the last Friday, and informed the court he would challenge the extradition request. It is understood that he was arrested on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the defendant was authorized by a Nairobi court in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been accused of a single count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would seek his extradition to stand trial.

Purkiss was once employed as a medic with the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the infantry regiment for the north-west of England, including on missions to Afghanistan.

The victim, twenty-one, a hair stylist who had a young daughter, went missing after a night on the town, and her body was found two months later in the grounds of the lodging where she had previously spotted.

No one had previously been arrested or accused in connection to her passing. The arrest of Purkiss was the result of a recent detective probe, which came after a exposé in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication approached several serving and ex-military personnel in the military group.

The investigation has been spearheaded by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral security treaty, retains jurisdiction in the matter.