A woman was on Wednesday, July 13, arrested by police in Eldama-Ravine, Baringo county, after she allegedly confessed to killing her two stepdaughters.
According to the police, the woman identified as Olivia Jepchirchir killed Shanice Jebet, 4, and Ivy Cherop, 7, before dumping their bodies in the nearby dam.
“The step-mother took us to Chemususu dam where the bodies were found sixty meters apart, with one floating in the dam. They all had homemade ropes tied around their necks. We suspect that they were hanged,” Eldama-Ravine deputy sub-county police commander Caxton Nduda confirmed.
Children go missing in the woman’s company
Jonathan Kipkemboi Kesses, the father of the girls noted that he had left his children in the company of their mother and uncle on Tuesday evening.
However, when he returned home at around 8:00 pm, he found the house empty.
Upon calling friends and neighbours to inquire about the whereabouts of his wife and children, none of them had an idea of where they went.
At around midnight, his wife returned home without the children.
When questioned on the children’s whereabouts, Jepchirchir said she left the children alone at home as she went to buy a matchbox at a nearby shop.
Woman gives contradicting statements
Following the outcome of the events, Kipkemboi and Jepchichir headed to the police station to report.
In a statement recorded on Tuesday, Jepchirchir reiterated that she left the children alone at home to buy a matchbox.
However, on Wednesday morning, Jepchirchir told the police that she woke up at midnight on a nearby maize farm following an attack by an unknown person who covered her head and stabbed her on her left arm losing consciousness.
“We arrested her when we noticed lots of inconsistencies in her story. She then confessed to knowing the location of the two girls. She led officers to Arama forest where they looked for the bodies until nightfall. They didn’t find them,” Nduda added.
Police are currently searching for the uncle of the girls who also went missing on the same day.
The bodies of the girls were moved to Eldama-Ravine hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem.
