Ex UK Serviceman Accused of Killing Kenyan Woman Shows Up in Court

An individual has shown up before a judge as deportation processes commenced in the legal matter of the victim Agnes Wanjiru, a woman of Kenyan origin who was found dead near a British forces camp in 2012.

Purkiss, 38, who is a native of Greater Manchester region, showed up in the Westminster court on Friday, and informed the court he intended to contest the deportation. It is understood that he was taken into custody on the evening of Thursday.

A detention order for the suspect was authorized by a Kenyan court in Nairobi in September. The prosecution told the Kenyan court that Purkiss had been accused of a one count, of murder, and that the Kenyan government would request his deportation to stand trial.

He was once employed as a army medic with the regiment of the Duke of Lancaster, the infantry regiment for the north-west of England, including on tours of Afghanistan.

Agnes Wanjiru, 21, a hair stylist who had a young daughter, vanished after a evening out, and her remains was found after two months in the grounds of the accommodation where she had previously spotted.

Not a single person had previously been detained or indicted in relation to her passing. His detention followed a recent detective probe, which followed a article in 2021 by the Sunday Times, in which the newspaper reached out to several current and former soldiers in the regiment.

The investigation has been headed by investigators from Kenya, which, under a bilateral defence agreement, holds legal authority in the case.