Nearly a year after fleeing the U.S., a Kenyan man accused of murdering his girlfriend pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was ordered held without bail.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe was wanted for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found in an SUV at Boston Logan International Airport on Oct. 31. She was reported missing by her family.
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Kangethe took a Lyft ride on Oct. 30, 2023, from his Lowell home to Mbitu's workplace, where he met her as she was getting off at about 11 p.m., prosecutors said in court Tuesday.
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He then allegedly drove her back home in the vehicle she was driving, which prosecutors said was registered to him but was being used at the time by the victim, after meeting her at work.
Sometime between leaving her job and arriving at his home, prosecutors said he "brutally attacked" her in the car with a knife, causing multiple sharp force injuries to Mbitu's body, according to prosecutors, who said there were 10 wounds just to her face and neck alone.
Prosecutors said Kangethe then drove around looking for a place to dispose of the body, answering two calls from family and coworkers asking where she was. He told them she had suffered an injury and couldn't come to the phone. Eventually, they said he discarded her cellphone in a dumpster in Chelsea. That phone was used by investigators to help them track him and collect surveillance video.
Kangethe left her body face down in the front seat of the heavily tinted car from the time of her death until some 30 hours later, when he drove the car to Logan Airport, prosecutors said.
Mbitu's body was found in the front seat, face down with the seat reclined, prosecutors said. They said her body was covered with random items to make it harder to see her. He then took a one-way flight to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, prosecutors said.
In the 30 hours Mbitu's body was in the car, the vehicle was parked four times at the suspect's home, according to prosecutors. The suspect was allegedly seen on video driving the car at different locations in Lowell and several neighboring towns.
Once in Kenya, an arrest warrant was issued and with the help of Kenyan authorities, Kangethe was found in Nairobi in January of this year. However, he escaped the Kenyan jail shortly after for almost a week.
He was later found again and arrested and remained in Kenya until this past week when he was extradited.
In court Tuesday, Mbitu's family members were seen visibly anguished and in tears as prosecutors detailed the events leading to her death. They later made media statements about the development in Mbitu's case.
Mary Kinyariro, a cousin, read a personal statement on behalf of Mbitu's sister.
"It has been a long journey coming. Today gives us hope and represents a step forward toward justice," the statement read in part.
"We will continue to fight until this coward is locked up and never sees light again or gets to harm any other family and take their loved one away from them," she continued.
The family also recalled not just their loss, but who Mbitu was in life.
"Today, we remember her kindness, her generosity, her smile and her infectious laugh, which lit up every room she offered," said cousin Joel Muhoro. "We think about her dreams of being a business owner, of becoming a nurse practitioner to help care for others and we remember the hole left in our lives."
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said this was "just the beginning of a long road to justice" for Mbitu and her family.
"She was deeply loved, she was a caregiver, a nurse beloved by every patient that she served, a beautiful soul and a wonderful daughter and a loving sister," Hayden said.
Hayden took a moment to thank partners across the local, state and federal levels who were involved with the investigation, as well as international partners in Kenya.
"The extradition of Kevin Kangethe has been a long time coming for all of those gathered here today, especially the Mbitu family," said Matthew O'Brien, special agent in charge of the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service Boston Field Office.
Kangethe's attorney spoke briefly in court, but his voice was not audible on the video recording.
He is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 5 for a pretrial hearing.
