A business woman married to a senior bank officer on Tuesday committed suicide and also killed her two children in a horrifying incident at Mugoya village in Embu County.
Ms Caroline Wanjiru, 37, is said to have locked herself and the children – an eight-year old daughter and two and half year old son – in their house, doused the room with petrol and set it on fire.
In an interesting unfolding, a boda-boda rider claimed that the business woman had sent him to buy three litres of petrol, shortly before neighbours noticed the fire that razed down the storey building.
“I didn’t suspect anything since she has a car. I thought the vehicle had stalled and she wanted to go somewhere. She didn’t appear distressed in any way,” said the man.
The woman’s husband Mr Charles Mugendi, a senior officer at a bank in Siakago area was not at home during the fatal incident.
Upon noticing smoke billowing from Mr Mugendi’s home, neighbours tried to access the premises but the deceased had locked the steel gate and closely placed a car to block it.
Embu West Police boss Francis Sang’ confirmed the incident adding that several gas cylinders that were in the house also caught fire.
The neighbours expressed that the woman seemed fine and had never shown signs of distress.
