a day ago
Man charged with killing girlfriend, leaving her body at Logan Airport parking lot, fires his lawyer
Judge Mary K. Ames granted Shapiro's request to withdraw and set an Aug. 21 hearing for the appearance of new counsel.
Kangethe, 42,
Kangethe remains held without bail.
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Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe appears at the Milimani law court in Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb. 14, 2024.
Brian Inganga/Associated Press
During Kangethe's arraignment last year, Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee said that Mbitu lived in Whitman and was last seen at about 11 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2023, leaving a longterm care facility in Halifax, where she worked as a nurse.
Lee said Kangethe took a Lyft ride to the facility and they left in his Toyota Venza that she had been driving.
'Whether by coercion or not,' Kangethe drove Mbitu from her workplace, Lee said.
Sometime between leaving Halifax and arriving at his home in Lowell, Kangethe 'brutally attacked' Mbitu with a knife, delivering '10 wounds just to her face and neck alone,' Lee said.
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Authorities determined that Kangethe parked the car at his home with her body inside
and was
seen on video driving at different locations in Lowell and several neighboring towns, Lee said.
'Failing to find a place to dispose of her, Mr. Kangethe discarded her cellphone instead in a dumpster in Chelsea just before driving to Logan Airport,' Lee said.
On Oct. 31, 2023, Kangethe twice answered calls from Mbitu's friends and coworkers, who were frantically trying to find out why she never showed up for work that morning, Lee said. On both occasions, Kangethe would not put Mbitu on the line and said she had sustained an injury.
Kangethe drove to Logan, where he parked the car and left her body facedown in the front seat, with the seat reclined and her body covered with bags and other items, Lee said.
Kangethe then boarded a flight to Nairobi, Lee said.
'Everything about Mr. Kangethe's flight from the United States suggests that he intended it to be permanent,' Lee said. 'He left with a one-way ticket.'
Kangethe was
After the arraignment, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden described Mbitu as a caregiver and nurse who was 'beloved by every patient that she served' and 'a beautiful soul and a wonderful daughter and a loving sister.'
His words were echoed by Ann Mbitu, the victim's sister, whose statement was read outside court by a relative.
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'When I lost my sister, I lost a personal friend, a confidante, and the only person I knew I could speak to,' the sister said. 'We will continue to fight ... until this coward is locked up and never sees the light again or gets to hurt another family and take their loved one away from them.'
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at
