Former British Soldier Accused of Killing Kenya Woman Shows Up in Courtroom

A man has appeared in court as extradition hearings started in the case of Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan national, a Kenyan woman who was found dead near a British forces camp in the year 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester region, showed up in the magistrates' court in Westminster on the last Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the extradition request. Sources suggest that he was taken into custody on Thursday night.

An arrest warrant for Purkiss was issued by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution stated before the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been facing a one count, of homicide, and that the Kenyan authorities would request his deportation to answer to accusations.

Purkiss was once employed as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the army unit for the English northwest, including on missions to Afghanistan.

The victim, 21, a hairdresser who had a infant daughter, vanished after a night on the town, and her remains was found 60 days later in the grounds of the lodging where she had most recently observed.

Nobody had earlier been detained or charged in association with her demise. Purkiss’s arrest came after a recent detective probe, which came after a article in 2021 by a weekly publication, in which the publication contacted several current and former soldiers in the regiment.

The investigation has been led by detectives in Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the legal case.