A fugitive who escaped from a police station in Kenya after being arrested on allegations he killed his girlfriend and left her body in a car at Boston’s Logan Airport last year has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and was ordered held without bail.
Kevin Adam Kinyanjui Kangethe, 40, was wanted for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Margaret Mbitu, whose body was found in a van at Boston Logan International Airport on October 31, 2023.
In Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Mbitu’s family and friends issued a statement following the judge’s decision.
“It has been a long journey. Today gives us hope and represents a step forward towards justice,” said Mary Kinyariro, a cousin, sharing the family’s statement. “We will continue to fight until this coward is locked away and never sees the light of day again or can harm another family and take away their loved one.”
FUGITIVE ACCUSED OF KILLING MASSACHUSETTS GIRLFRIEND IS ARRESTED AGAIN IN KENYA AFTER ESCAPING FROM POLICE CUSTODY
Kevin Kangethe appears at the Mililani court in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 31, 2024. Nairobi’s police chief said early Thursday, February 8, 2024, that Kangethe, a murder suspect awaiting extradition to the United States, had walked out of a police station cell and jumped into one of the privately owned minivans that are the main source of transportation in Kenya. (AP Photo)
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said this was “just the beginning of a long road to justice” for Mbitu and his family.
“She was deeply loved, she was a caregiver, a nurse loved by all the patients she cared for, a beautiful soul and a wonderful daughter and a loving sister,” Hayden said.
Prosecutors on Tuesday shared new details about Mbitu’s death, saying Kangethe “brutally attacked” her in the car with a knife.
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The attack left him with 10 wounds to his face and neck, prosecutors said.
Mbitu was found in a parked car at Logan International Airport after her brutal killing, prosecutors said earlier. She was found face down, with the seat reclined and the windows heavily tinted to make it difficult to see inside.
Kevin Kangethe has been arrested in Kenya following the murder in Boston late last year. (Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles/Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)
Kangethe allegedly abandoned the car and was returning to his home country when authorities found the young nurse’s body.
Following the investigation into Mbitu’s death, US and Kenyan law enforcement agencies sought Kangethe. He was first found and arrested at a nightclub in Nairobi on January 29.
On February 8, he managed to escape from a police station and got into a privately owned minivan.
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He was later found again and arrested and remained in Kenya until last week when he was extradited to the US.
He is scheduled to return to court on November 5 for a pre-trial hearing.
Fox News’ Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
Tips and story ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and X: @s_rumpfwhiteten.
