A German tourist accused of killing his
Kenyan wife and hiding the decomposing
body for three days has been set free.
Michael Ribcke was acquitted by High
Court Judge Maureen Odero who ruled
that the tourist was of unstable mind
during and after the killing in Bamburi in
Nyali.
Odero said the prosecution failed to
provide sufficient evidence to link Ribcke
to the murder.
Ribcke was found lying in bed with the
decomposing body of his newly-wedded
wife, Esther Igoki.
Neighbours called the police after an
overpowering stench came out of the
couple's house in Vescon, Bamburi on
December 8, 2010.
Yesterday Ribcke told the Star that he will
leave for Germany on the next available
flight.
“Staying in the Shimo la Tewa prison was
hell for me. I regret the death of my wife
but I find it good that the courts found
me not guilty,” he said.
Judge Odero ruled that Ribcke was of
unsound mind as noted by a psychiatrist
who treated him for three days before he
was declared mentally fit to plead to his
charges.
“In the P3 form filled at the police
station, it is noted that he looked sick and
depressed. The psychiatrist testified that
he was mentally disoriented and suffered
mental sickness,” Odero said.
“Indeed for a man to remain holed up in
a house with a badly decomposing
stinking dead body is clear evidence of an
unsound mind.”
An autopsy report by a government
pathologist also assisted Ribcke’s acquittal
as the judge said the doctor did not give
the exact cause of death.
A Coast General Hospital pathologist, who
performed the autopsy, said the deceased
died from asphyxia due to the presence
of mucus on the vocal cords.
The pathologist acknowledged the
difficulty of performing an autopsy on the
decayed body but said there was no sign
of strangulation or poisoning.
“Choking can cause asphyxia. Even
inhalation of food but not food stuck in
the throat. The choking can be common
with people who take alcohol but not
necessarily a lot of alcohol,” said the
pathologist.
During the trial Ribcke told the court that
he slipped into a state of unconsciousness
after a drinking spree with his wife and
brother-in-law, and then woke up in
hospital.
However, this argument was dismissed in
court.
“I find the accused defence as utter lies
and an afterthought. I am not persuaded
that there is any truth to this defence. I
reject this in its entirety but the onus to
prove lies in the prosecution,” Odero
said.