A High Court sitting in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County, has sentenced two men — namely John Mukuyuti and Isaac Wanyonyi alias Paul Kundu — to life imprisonment for the ghastly murder of baby Shanel Blessing.
The prosecution led by Counsel Mark Mugun produced evidence showing that John Mukuyuti used to cohabit with the deceased’s grandmother. They all lived together with her grandchildren in her house within Kiungani area in Kiminini Sub-County.
Their cohabitation did not last for long, and she left him for a man younger than him, something that greatly enraged the 1st accused because he felt that he had invested time and money into the relationship. Together with the 2nd accused, he devised a scheme to recoup the money he had presumably spent on her in the course of the relationship.
On October 27 2021, they went to her house and picked the deceased child from her baby cot. Later in the evening, his accomplice was seen dropping off leaflets containing his demands of KSh295,000, which he had allegedly spent on the grandmother when the relationship was still blossoming.
The ransom note bore a contact number of the accomplice, the 2nd accused. Every night after that, the 2nd accused would drop off more ransom notes but with a caution that the grandmother was being closely monitored and warned against informing the police.
Fearing that her grandchild may be harmed, the grandmother notified the police. Investigations led to the arrest of the 1st accused on October 30 2021, and at the time of his arrest, one half of the baby’s blanket was found in his house. He was also found with a SIM card to one of the phone numbers where the ransom was to be deposited. In the meantime, the 2nd accused went underground, living under an alias.
On November 2 2021, the mutilated and decomposing body of baby Shanel was found in a sugar cane plantation. An autopsy would reveal the cause of death to be strangulation.
About 2 months later, the police were tipped off as to the whereabouts of the second accused by his landlord. At the time of arrest, he was found with copies of the ransom notes, SIM card plates for the contacts indicated in the ransom notes, and a book from which the original ransom note was written.
When both accused persons submitted a handwriting sample for analysis, it returned positive. During sentencing, the prosecution presented further evidence of aggravating circumstances that drove the judge, Hon. Justice Limo to pronounce life imprisonment.
