10 pathologists, 5-hr autopsy reveals how they were killed

The 31-year-old woman who was allegedly killed by her estranged Kenya Air Force husband was hit with a blunt object while her two children were strangled using a rope, Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor has revealed.

Addressing the media at Nanyuki Teaching and Referral hospital mortuary after conducting a postmortem on their bodies, Oduor said Joyce Syombua was bleeding from the brain.

He, however, said since the bodies of Syombua, Shanice Maua, 10, and Prince Michael, 5, had decomposed, it was difficult to tell when they were exactly killed.

The pathologist said DNA samples have been taken from the bodies for further tests, an exercise that would take one week.

He also indicated that other samples would be taken from the bodies for toxicological tests to identify whether the bodies had been poisoned before they were killed, something that could not be established during Wednesday’s exercise.

That exercise, he said, will take about three months and will inform the identification of the bodies.

Family members of the deceased family members, who included Syombua’s mother, Elizabeth Maua, were at the morgue to identify the bodies, with the pathologist saying they presumptively positively identified them.  

The family members did not , however, speak to the media after the exercise.

The pathologist indicated that the bodies would be released to the family for burial once the DNA tests are done and results released.

It took over 10 pathologists over five hours to do the postmortem.

The three bodies were exhumed from a shallow grave at Makaburini area in Nanyuki town on Saturday and taken to Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.

Syombua’s estranged husband, Major Peter Mugure Mwaura and another suspect, Collins Pamba, are in police custody and they will know whether they will be charged with murder on December 9.