BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — Family and friends of slain Whitman nurse Maggie Mbitu gathered Sunday for a prayer vigil at Grace and Faith Anglican Church as they anxiously await word of an arrest in Kenya, where Mbitu’s alleged killer remains on the run.
Mbitu’s body was found in a car in a Logan Airport garage last November. 40-year-old Kevin Kangethe of Lowell, whom Mbitu’s family members tell us she was trying to break up with, was wanted for murder when he boarded a flight and fled to Kenya.
In January, Kangethe was captured in Kenya. But just last week, he escaped Nairobi police custody and is now on the run.
“It was very disappointing,” said Mbitu’s cousin, Milka Ndungu. “I remember, I was at work, and I saw it on the news, and it brought me back to when Maggie got murdered, and it was very painful.”
Kangethe was awaiting extradition when Kenyan authorities say a man claiming to be his attorney asked to speak to him before Kangethe then ran from the police station and hopped into a privately owned minivan.
Four officers who were on duty at the time are now in custody, the Associated Press has reported.
“Having the suspect getting caught and somehow he gets out,” said another cousin of Mbitu, George Kamau, “to escape from police custody is just adding salt to the wound.”
Mbitu’s family is pleading with the Kenyan government and authorities more than 7,000 miles away to recapture Kangethe.
“We feel that, if we get justice, it’s not like Maggie will come back, but at least we’ll have, you know, some closure,” Ndungu said.
As loved ones sang and prayed at the Bridgewater church, they remembered and honored the 31-year-old “people person” who was calm and charming, they say.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” Ndungu said. “She deserved to live with us. She was still young. She had a future ahead of her. And we believe that the suspect just cut her life off.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW