Former Soldier Denies Allegations in Court
Robert James Purkiss, a 38-year-old former British soldier, is currently being held on remand in a London prison after being refused bail. He faces extradition to Kenya, where he is wanted for the alleged murder of 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru in 2012.
Westminster Magistrates' Court heard earlier this month that Purkiss vehemently denies the charges against him. He has received Ministry of Defence funding to help pay for his defence costs.
The 2012 Incident in Nanyuki
Agnes Wanjiru, a hairdresser and mother of a five-month-old baby, disappeared in March 2012 in Nanyuki, a town near a British Army training camp. Her body was discovered two months later in a septic tank behind the Lions Court hotel.
An inquest conducted in 2018 concluded that Wanjiru was murdered by British soldiers. She was found half-naked, and witnesses reported seeing her leaving the hotel with a soldier before her disappearance.
The court was told that a colleague of Purkiss saw him crying outside the Lions Court hotel around the time of the alleged murder. When asked why he was upset, Purkiss is alleged to have said: "I've killed her."
Social Media Evidence and Defence
Further evidence presented to the court alleged that in 2018, Purkiss responded with a smiling face emoji to a colleague's social media post. The post featured a picture outside the Lions Court hotel with the caption "if you know, you know" and referenced the septic tank.
However, in a statement to the Daily Mail, Purkiss publicly refuted these claims. "I did not kill Agnes Wanjiru. I do not believe I ever met her either," he stated. "Neither would I joke about killing a woman."
Purkiss, who served as a medic, provided a potential alibi, claiming he only heard about the incident weeks later while on a military exercise in Canada. He questioned the forensic plausibility, stating: "Agnes was stabbed in the abdomen. She would have lost a lot of blood. If I killed her and dumped her body, there would have been blood over my clothes and hands. There was none."
He also asserted that he was back in camp by midnight and has no memory of being in the hotel room in question.
Purkiss is scheduled to appear at the same court for a further bail application hearing. The case continues to develop as the extradition process unfolds.
