American man handed life sentence for ‘horrific’ killing of Kenyan wife

LEFT: Mr Kwame Adom Carpenter. RIGHT: Maureen Wanjiku Gathua- Carpenter and their baby Kyan Carpenter.

An American accused of murdering his Kenyan wife and their six-month-old baby in 2015 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mr Kwame Adom Carpenter was charged with the murder of his wife Maureen Wanjiku Gathua- Carpenter and their baby Kyan Carpenter.

Orange County Court Judge Richard King found him guilty of two felony accounts of murder.

“This was a horrific case. The image that is in everyone’s mind is the child crawling with a knife in his back,” the judge said in his ruling.

The family of the late Ms Gathua was so keen about the ruling that they travelled to the states to witness the ruling.

In his submission to the court, Mr Steve McGreevy who is the Deputy District Attorney said that “the case put the victims’ family, and the defendant family, through significant heartache.”

Mr Carpenter, according to the prosecution, said that the duo died after they were attacked by a butcher knife.

Ms Gathua died on the scene of crime while the boy died in hospital.