Starlet Wahu's murder: Fresh twist as investigations link prime suspect to serial killings

The prime suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Starlet Wahu Mwangi is now under investigation for possible serial killings both in and outside Nairobi.

This development follows another victim's report at the Makadara sub-county police headquarters, detailing her attempted murder by the suspect identified as John Ongoa Matara, whom she met on a dating site.

The investigations took a different twist on Saturday after more victims emerged to write statements of assaults and attempts on their lives by the 30-year-old Matara.

One of them claimed that she fell victim to the suspect on December 29 last year, days after meeting on a dating site.

In a chilling account, the victim described her encounter with Matara on a dating site before booking an AirBnB, where he initiated a violent assault, demanding access to her financial accounts.

“I met this guy on a dating site…he seemed so nice and even took me to an AirBnB. In the middle of the night he started strangling me and even asked for my M-Pesa statements,” she said, adding; “He was trying to strangle me so much.”

Preliminary police findings suggest Matara might be a serial killer targeting women through online dating platforms.

“He did bad things to me and asked for my accounts and asked me to transfer the money to him,” she added.

The victim, who requested to remain anonymous, identified Matara as the perpetrator after news of Starlet Wahu's murder spread, confirming that the individual matched the person she encountered.

“It is the same guy…the number posted by DCI is the same guy I can testify that I used to transfer money to him which is John Ongoa Mtara,” the victim narrated. 

The shocking revelations come after Wahu, who was murdered in an AirBnB in Nairobi’s South B, was buried at her parents' home in Kamulu area of Ruai.

Her burial came barely two days after her lifeless body was discovered on Thursday, shortly after checking into the apartment on Wednesday night.

Video surveillance from Papino apartments captured Wahu and Matara entering an elevator within the apartment block on Wednesday, before disembarking on the fourth floor and proceeding to the room which they had reportedly rented for a night.

“Walibook apartment and at 4am hicho kisa kikatokea,” Makadara OCPD Judy Nyongesa said.

Police discovered the deceased’s lifeless body lying in a pool of blood inside the apartment after the security at the AirBnB reported the matter to the authorities.

Matara reportedly hastily left the premises on Thursday morning wearing blood-stained clothes. 

He was arrested at Mbagathi hospital where he took himself for treatment for a stab wound to his stomach. Police believe he inflicted the wound on himself to mislead the investigators.

A post-mortem examination conducted on the body of Wahu on Friday revealed that she died due to excessive bleeding caused by stabbing.

Police reports further indicate that there were signs of a struggle between Wahu and her killer, as the scene appeared bloody, disarrayed and chaotic.

Police further discovered HIV testing kits, used condoms, bhang, a bottle of alcohol and a blood-stained kitchen knife, believed to be the murder weapon, at the scene.