Pathologist links Starlet Wahu’s death to stab wound, strangulation

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A government pathologist has told the Milimani High Court that socialite Starlet Wahu died from a combination of strangulation and a stab wound that caused massive blood loss.

Testifying in the ongoing murder trial of John Matara Ong’oa, retired pathologist Dr Peter Ndegwa said he performed the postmortem on January 5, 2024, two days after Wahu’s death at Papino Apartments in South B, Nairobi.

He described injuries on the 24-year-old’s body, including 10 fingernail markings on the front of her neck.

There was a stab wound on her right thigh, internal bleeding on the right side of the head, and an overall pale appearance from excessive bleeding.

“The cause of death was severe haemorrhage due to a stab wound and strangulation-related trauma,” Dr Ndegwa told the court.

Earlier, Police Constable Allan Njoka, a crime scene investigator, presented a report dated July 29, 2024, accompanied by 21 photographs he captured at the apartment in the early hours of January 4.

He stressed that there was no evidence of scene tampering and that the images accurately reflected what he found.

A third witness, a cashier at South B Hospital, recalled receiving a man with bleeding arms and legs, one of them wrapped in a blood-soaked white towel.

She said the man identified himself as Fredrick Opondo, aged 36, before being referred to Mbagathi Hospital for further treatment.

The prosecution, led by Ms Della Wilbey, Ms Sarah Ogweno, and Ms Peris Maina, applied to amend the charge sheet to include the accused’s alias.

Appearing before Justice Alexander Muteti, the team requested an adjournment, saying only five more witnesses remain.

The matter will resume on November 27, 2025, when the final witnesses are expected to testify.