A FORMER British soldier accused of murdering a young mum and dumping her body in a septic tank has broken his silence.
Robert Purkiss, 38, has pleaded his innocence over the stabbing of Agnes Wanjuri, 21, after she was found semi-naked in Kenya having last been seen at a hotel with a group of Brit soldiers.
The single mother of a then four-month-old baby was discovered beaten and with knife wounds, and was likely still alive when she was thrown into the septic tank, a magistrate court said in a 2019 inquest report.
Dad-of-two Purkiss is currently being held at a London prison after a Kenyan court ordered his arrest and extradition back in September.
Speaking for the first time since his detention, Purkiss strongly denied the claims he was responsible for Wanjuri’s death in any way.
He told the Daily Mail: “I did not kill Agnes Wanjuri, I do not believe I ever met her either.
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“I only heard about the incident weeks later when I was on a military exercise in Canada.
“Only much later than that was I told a body had been found in a tank.”
“I was a medic, I’ve treated people on the battlefield. Agnes was stabbed in the abdomen. She would have lost a lot of blood.
“If I killed her and dumped her body there would have been blood over my clothes and hands. There was none.
“There is no basis in fact to any suggestion I murdered Agnes Wanjuri. I am sorry if that is hard for her family to hear, but it was not me.”
Further allegations were made against Purkiss earlier this month.
He allegedly told his army colleague the murder was “sex that went wrong”.
Prosecutor Joel Smith said that British soldiers on leave had been drinking heavily on March 31, 2012, at a hotel where they were known to pay local female prostitutes for sex.
Wanjiru was said to have been out with the group and was last seen leaving a hotel with a soldier, according to witnesses.
Smith told a London court that colleagues of the accused had claimed to military police in Kenya that Purkiss confessed to killing Wanjiru.
In a court statement, one of the men said he overheard a drunken conversation where Purkiss appeared to celebrate “killing a brass”.
Smith added that Purkiss told another colleague that it was sex that went wrong, and led a soldier to the septic tank to view the body.
He even joked about her death on Facebook messages, it was alleged.
A night guard and a guest later claimed they heard a woman screaming, according to local reports.
Addressing these claims, Purkiss said: “I never booked the hotel room, can’t remember ever being in it.
“I think we were back in camp by midnight.”
The British soldiers were all based at an army training camp in Nanyuki, 125 miles north of the capital, Nairobi.
Wanjiru was reported missing several days after her death on April 2, as her body was found “significantly decomposed” on June 5.
Smith said a post-mortem examination identified a stab wound to the lower abdomen and a collapsed lung.
Defence lawyer David Josse said Purkiss, who is self-employed and works from the home he shares with his wife and two children, vehemently denied the murder charge in court.
Purkiss did not enter a plea in London but shook his head as the prosecutor described the evidence against him.
There remains no forensic evidence in the case including a murder weapon or bloodied clothes.
He will become the first British serviceman ever to be extradited to a foreign country for the murder of a civilian if the case proceeds.
The sickening crime was allegedly covered up by Purkiss’ chain of command for over a decade – resulting in a furious diplomatic row between Kenya and the UK.
Wanjiru’s heartbroken family flew to London last month, where Defence Secretary John Healey assured them of the UK’s “steadfast support for their fight for justice”.
Purkiss is now fearing he may be dragged out to Kenya to face what he predicts to be a “show trial”.
An inquest into Ms Wanjuri’s death was opened in Kenya in 2018.
The following year a court found she had been unlawfully killed by British soldiers.
Purkiss added: “For the sake of my family I try to stay positive but it is bloody hard.
“Whatever people say about squaddies, I don’t believe any of us would cover up something as serious as the murder of a woman.
“None of this makes sense.”
Purkiss was a medic who served multiple tours of Afghanistan and received an official commendation for his service.
The case brought about an investigation by the British Army into the conduct of British soldiers in Kenya in 2024.
The review found 35 suspected cases of soldiers having engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse with local women.
