Former British soldier fighting extradition to Kenya in death of woman

LONDON (AP) — A former British soldier said Friday that he would fight extradition to Kenya where he faces charges of murder in the death of a woman whose decomposed body was found in a septic tank 13 years ago.

Robert James Purkiss, 38, appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to contest his transfer to Kenya, where he is charged in the killing of Agnes Wanjiru, who was last seen leaving a hotel bar with British soldiers in the town of Nanyuki, near a British army training ground.

British soldiers on leave had been drinking heavily on March 31, 2012, at a hotel where they were known to pay local women for sex, Prosecutor Joel Smith said.

Wanjiru, 21, had left her baby daughter with a friend that night and said she was going to “hustle for her daughter,” Smith said.

“She was never seen alive again,” Smith said.

Smith said Purkiss confessed to other soldiers that he killed Wanjiru.

One soldier, who had been drinking that night, said he saw Purkiss crying.

“When he was asked why, the defendant said ‘I’ve killed her,’” Smith said.

Purkiss did not enter a plea but shook his head as the prosecutor described the evidence against him.

Defense lawyer David Josse said Purkiss, who is self-employed and works from the home he shares with his wife and two children, “vehemently denies” the murder charge.

Smith said Purkiss told another colleague that it was “sex that went wrong” and led a soldier to the septic tank to view the body.

A postmortem examination concluded that Wanjiru may have been alive when she was dumped in the tank, Smith said.

Wanjiru’s family has been seeking justice for years and their representative met with British Defense Secretary John Healey, who pledged his support after the Nairobi court in September ordered the arrest of Purkiss, who was not publicly named at the time.

District Judge Briony Clarke rejected a request to release Purkiss. He was remanded to custody until a Nov. 14 bail hearing.