Murder, suicide, as Kenyan woman and her boyfriend are found dead on Christmas Day

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a 24-year-old man and his 21-year-old girlfriend, whose bodies were found in their rented house in Nguluni, Matungulu Sub-County in Machakos County, Kenya on Christmas Day.

Neighbours say the last time they saw the couple in public was on December 22.

It is suspected the man, Stephen Mumo, who hails from Mumbuni Village in Kathiani, Machakos County, strangled his partner Anne Mariam Chalia, a native of Kitungati Village in Chuluni, Kitui County, before committing suicide by hanging.

Elizabeth Syombua Munguti, the landlady of the house that the lovers had rented, said the two moved into the building on December 15, and their union was marred by constant wrangles and domestic violence.

On December 25, the property owner said upon peeping through the couple’s window, she saw the lovers’ bodies.

“The man was hanging from a mosquito net tied to the roof, whereas the woman was lying on the bed,” said Syombua.

Police were called to the scene and took the bodies to Kangundo District Hospital mortuary.