Lead image for Grief, unanswered questions after Grade 9 girl’s killing on eve of return to school.
For Ms Leah Muthoni, August 23 began like any other day at home, with the familiar routine of a mother and daughter preparing for the return to school after the holiday.
She spent almost the entire day with her second-born daughter, Grace Ngarua, and there was nothing to suggest that it would be the last day she would see her 14-year-old daughter alive.
Leah Muthoni(center) during an interview at their home in Echareria village in Gilgil subcounty on August 27, 2026. Her daughter went missing on Sunday only for her mutilated body to be discovered in a thicket along the railway line a kilometre from their home days later.
Ngarua, a Grade Nine pupil at Echareria Primary School in Mbaruk Ward, Gilgil sub-county, woke up, had breakfast and helped with chores before turning her attention to preparations for school.
She was expected back in class the following day and was looking forward to sitting her examinations this year before transitioning to senior school.
In an interview at their home in Echareria village, Ms Muthoni said that mid-morning, Ngarua excused herself and went to a salon to have her hair done.