Suspect linked to grade 9 pupil’s murder in Echariria village detained for 30 days
Grade nine student Grace Nyarua whose lifeless body was found in Echariria village sparking outrage in Mbaruk.
One suspect linked to the killing of Grade nine student Grace Nyarua, from Echariria village in Kasambara, Gilgil Sub-County will be held in police sells for 30 days.
Gilgil sub-county criminal investigation officer (SCIO) Joseph Parsiat confirmed that the suspect was arrested on September 2 and presented to court where they were granted 30 day custodial orders and the suspect is currently detained in Gilgil police station.
“We arrested one person and we are still pursuing a few others. In the 30 days we will be winding up other administrative issues such as DNA analysis,” he noted.
Parsiat, confirmed that the suspect is a resident of Nakuru county.
A report of a body being discovered was reported at Mbaruk police station on 24 august ,2026 at 9 pm while Nyarua's father Onesmus Njuguna had made a missing child report at the same station on the same day at 8 am in the morning.
According to Leah Muthoni, the girl’s mother, her daughter went missing on Sunday 23, August at around 6.40pm while she was preparing dinner at their home.
Muthoni recalled that the family had spent a happy afternoon together, with Nyarua preparing to return to school. She had also gone to the salon to have her hair done before returning home and beginning to prepare a meal.
“We had a great afternoon. She was preparing to go back to school and had gone to the salon to get her hair done. After that, she came home and started preparing a meal in the kitchen. At around 6.40pm, I realized she was no longer in the kitchen, and I immediately informed her father,” Muthoni noted in an earlier interview.
The girl was laid to rest on 1, September 2026 as the family noted they wanted just for their daughter who was brutally murdered.
Njuguna noted that he discovered her daughter’s body after noticing a crowd by the railway. Upon taking a closer look he painfully identified the lifeless girl as her daughter.
Onsemus Njuguna, father of the grade nine student Grace Nyarua explains the state in which the body of her child was found with stab wounds as he calls for justice for her daughter
“On my way back home, I continued with the search, and that is when I noticed a group of people gathered next to the railway line. I became curious and decided to approach them. At the scene, I saw the body and it was Grace lying there lifeless, with visible injuries on her face,” he said before breaking down in tears.
The family plea is for Nakuru women leaders to intercede and help them get justice.
Nyarua’s murder rekindled painful memories of slain 12-year-old Jasmine Njoki Wambugu three years ago. Jasmine was allegedly defiled and murdered in the same area before her body was dumped in a thicket along the railway line.
Police are still pursuing more suspects