Police officers are investigating a case where a man committed suicide about 24 hours after beheading his estranged wife at their house in Kithiriti village, Kirinyaga county.

Patrick Nyaanga, the Mwea-east sub-county police chief, verified the occurrence.

PHOTO | COURTESY police line

According to Nyaanga, the guy, named Michael Muriithi, has been hiding since Saturday night after killing his wife with a machete during a domestic dispute.

The deceased, Jane Njoki, was 33 years old.

According to locals, Michael and his wife began bickering shortly after his wife had cooked dinner for their two children on that fateful Saturday night.

The two had been living separately.

PHOTO | COURTESY police line

“The man and his wife had been living separately for a while now, but the wife would come home to see her children and cook for them,” said a neighbor.

Njoki was hacked to death while leaving her estranged husband's property after cooking for the children.

The man is alleged to have gone into hiding, and police are searching the area for him to seek an explanation for what happened that Saturday.

However, the man's body was discovered on Monday morning, hanging from a tree along the highway.

PHOTO | COURTESY police line

“There was concern that the man could turn his wrath against the children after killing his wife on Saturday night. Police have been trying to find the man since the incident happened,” said Kutus location chief Nancy Gichuki.

She asked locals to put an end to gender-based violence and to settle marital disputes peacefully.

The bodies of the deceased are currently being held at the Kibugi funeral home in Kutus, awaiting postmortem.