The man suspected murdering Shantel Nzembi was nabbed with the help of phone call records. This is according to a news report on how detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations were able to identify the killer.
The report appeared in the Sunday Nation. Apparently, the killer who was identified as Mutindi Nthuku had made multiple phone calls demanding to a ransom after kidnapping the little girl. At one point, he demanded for up to Sh. 300,000 from the girl’s mother.
“We decided to play along, buying time for detectives to locate the caller. At some point, we were kept waiting for a new number to send the ransom. We knew we could not afford the money but time was of essence. My last hope to find my daughter alive was on police officers,” the news report quoted the mother of Shantel Nzembi.
Nthuku was arrested after a raid in his apartment barely 300 meters from where the girl’s body was found. Investigations showed that he had made a total of 51 calls around the time of the kidnapping. Most of these calls were to Livingstone Makacha Otengo who is also a suspect in the murder. Nthuku and Otengo were arrested alongside Franckline Mbuthia and Agnes Kasiva Nzioki.
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Reports in the media say that Nthuku had approached little Shantel while she was playing with other children at a Kitengela Estate. Apparently, he inquired if the girl knew of any vacant houses in the area. After a brief exchange, they offered to give the girl a motorcycle ride which they used as a means to kidnap her.
Isinya Director of Criminal Investigations officer Jeremiah Ndubai said eye witness and the kid who was lastly playing with Shantel positively identified the prime suspect during a public parade conducted at Kitengela police station. An autopsy report showed that Shantel was suffocated to death by blocking her nose and mouth.