Former TV anchor Louis Otieno at the Kibera Law Courts on June 3, 2016. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A court has recommended that former TV news anchor Louis Otieno be subjected to fresh tests to establish whether he was involved in the murder of Careen Chepchumba, his girlfriend who was murdered six years ago.
Ms Careen was found dead inside her apartment at Santonia Court, Kilimani, on February 12, 2012, and after investigations police said they did not have a suspect.
PUBLIC INQUEST
Accusing police of bungling the investigations and recommending a public inquest, former Kibera Resident magistrate Charles Ondiek urged the Director of Public Prosecutions to direct fresh probe to resolve the murder of Careen.
Mr Otieno denied killing Ms Careen or ever having a romantic affair with her. He however admitted that she was his friend.
“The cause of Careen’s death was not suicide, it was not accidental. The cause of death of Careen Chepchumba Kili can not be said to be undetermined. The cause was strangulation. These are inevitable findings,” the court stated.
The court found that police exonerated Mr Otieno of involvement in the murder even before carrying forensic analysis of his phones and of the deceased to establish where he was at the time Careen was murdered.
“Having found no eye witness, forensic evidence was the sure key to unlock criminal culpability by some known person or persons. In fact, this investigation was hinged and turned on a composite of two key evidence namely forensic and circumstantial,” the inquest found.
FORENSIC EVIDENCE
It follows that in the absence of forensic evidence and having not considered the circumstantial evidence, the far-reaching conclusion by the team of investigators that there was no evidence to support a theory of murder was hollow, devoid of merit and thus clearly unfounded, the court observed.
It has recommended that samples of Mr Otieno’s finger nails be taken in the presence of Head of Government Chemist who shall take them immediately after documentation by police.
The inquest was told how nail clippings taken by police from Otieno turned out to be of Careen during analysis by experts at the Government Chemist.
The court directed that the mix up of the clippings be investigated too.
No comments:
Post a Comment