SEATTLE, October 23 – A man was on Wednesday convicted in Seattle, USA for stabbing his Kenyan girlfriend to death.
The 42-year-old woman identified in court documents as Jane Kariuki was reportedly stabbed in the neck and face as she drove in the same car with her boyfriend.
The man was identified as Christel D. Murphy, 42.
Reports in the Kenyanlist.com, a networking site for Kenyans abroad states that the attacker was jailed for the October 16 killing and an assault on her two years ago.
It is understood that the woman and the man had been arguing for a while as they drove down on North 92nd Street before he allegedly stabbed her last Thursday.
It is reported that they were in a Suzuki Grand Vitari when Mr Murphy grabbed the victim and stabbed her 31 times. He cut her neck, face and chest Kenyanlist.com stated, quoting court documents.
The man then got out of the vehicle, tossed the knife to the ground, lit a cigarette and leaned up against a guardrail until police arrived, the website said.
When contacted for comment, Kenya’s Police Spokesman Erick Kiraithe said the matter was being handled by the Interpol and local CID officers but could not state if the family had been notified.
“We are aware of the case but have not received the full details. Officers at the CID and Interpol office are on it,” he told Capital News on telephone.
Our calls to the Interpol office in Nairobi went unanswered.
It is understood that the woman was with her brother-in-law in the car at the time the incident occurred and even performed first aid on her before she was rushed to the Harboview Medical Centre where she was pronounced dead.
According to court documents, the couple had been living together for the past five years.
It was however, not the first time the woman was being assaulted by Mr Murphy. It is reported that the man had been sentenced to 60 days in 2006 for third degree assault and ordered to complete counseling for domestic violence batterers.
In that case, court papers state that the woman was found at the couple’s apartment in the 2300 block of 56th Place South bleeding from her right ear and fingers.
She told police at the time that her boyfriend had attacked her after he accused her of monopolising the television and not giving him attention.
The man was later arrested by Kent police, who presented him to court where he was handed the jail term, including a no-contact order with the woman.
But when he completed his sentence in October 2006, he and the deceased are reported to have urged the court to lift the no-contact order which was subsequently issued by Judge George Mattson who ruled that Mr Murphy had completed domestic violence batterers’ counseling.
In July 2007, he was again charged at the Kent Municipal Court in yet another episode involving Jane Kariuki, prompting another order to take effect.
Kenyanlist.com says that the man was recently summoned to court for a probation violation.
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