The man, wanted for killing his girlfriend and abandoning her body at a Boston airport before fleeing to Kenya, fled police custody in the African country, authorities said.
Kevin Kangete, 40, took three months for investigators to find and arrest him before he stormed out of a Kenyan police station and fled in a private minivan, Nairobi Police Chief Adamson Bangay said. It was announced on Thursday.
Kangete was arrested in Kenya last week, three months after investigators found the body of his girlfriend Margaret “Maggie” Mbitu dumped in a garage at Logan International Airport on October 31. He was arrested by local police at a nightclub.
Police said Mbithu, a 31-year-old nurse, had large cuts on her face and neck and a stab wound on her side. Her body was found covered in blood in a car registered to Kangete.
Massachusetts State Police quickly identified Kangete as a suspect, but he was already on a plane to Kenya.
In the weeks and months since he fled the country, Massachusetts State Police have been working with Kenyan investigators to locate and arrest the suspected killer.
Now, Kenyan police are once again searching for a man who was awaiting extradition to the United States.
The exact circumstances of how he fled the police station are unclear, but four police officers on duty at the time have been detained and have issued statements. According to the Associated Press.
“We arrested the police officer who was on duty when he escaped and explained what happened. It’s just embarrassing for us,” Bungei said.
At about 4pm on Wednesday, a man named John Maina Ndegwa, who claimed to be Mr Kangete’s lawyer, arrived at the police station and asked police if he could speak to his client privately.
“The officers agreed to his request and removed the prisoner from his cell. [an]Office… leave it there. After some time, the prisoner escaped and ran away, leaving the prison. [lawyer] in the back,” the police report states.
Ndegwa was arrested, but police were unable to catch up with Kangete.
Kenyan police are known to be corrupt, and there are growing suspicions that the murder suspect may have bribed his way to his freedom.
with post wire
