An arrest has been made in connection with the death of a woman whose body was found in a vehicle in a Boston's Logan International Airport parking garage last year, officials said Tuesday.
NBC10 Boston was the first to report Kevin Kangethe's arrest in Kenya.
Margaret "Maggie" Mbitu, 31, of Whitman, was reported missing on Oct. 30, 2023. Two days later, police said they found her body in an SUV parked inside a garage at Boston Logan International Airport.
Mbitu's boyfriend, 40-year-old Kangethe, of Lowell, was arrested Monday night by federal partners in Kenya, sources had said, in partnership with Massachusetts State Police, the Suffolk District Attorney and the U.S. State Department. A warrant had been issued for his arrest in the wake of the killing.
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“I’m extremely grateful to the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the FBI, Kenyan law enforcement agencies, the Kenyan government and the Massachusetts State Police for bringing the person accused of Margaret Mbitu’s brutal murder into custody," Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. "Their tremendous and untiring efforts will provide Margaret’s family and friends the opportunity to see Kevin Kangethe face justice for this terrible crime."
"We are overjoyed by the news of the capture of Maggie's murder suspect," Mbitu's family said in a statement. "We have confirmed with law enforcement and the DA of the arrest of Mr. Kangethe in Kenya and are waiting on the next step of extradition and eventual prosecution. We want to thank our friends, law enforcement here in the US and in Kenya and the community at large for the efforts in the capture of Mr. Kangethe. We are confident that the truth will prevail and that justice for Maggie will be achieved."
Kangethe is expected to be extradited to the U.S. at a later date.
Mbitu's family said Tuesday morning that they were informed of the arrests by the district attorney and state police. They said they are "thankful for all of the prayers" and look forward to seeing Kangethe in court once he is brought back to this country.
According to authorities, Kangethe reportedly boarded a plane from Logan to Kenya immediately after the incident.
The warrant for Kangethe's arrest said that Massachusetts State Police responded to Logan's Central Parking Garage at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2023, and found Kangethe's vehicle, a white 2013 Toyota Venza, inside.
Surveillance cameras had captured images of the same vehicle in Lowell and Chelsea a day earlier.
Investigators said they found an "unresponsive individual," later identified as Mbitu, in the front passenger seat. A large amount of blood was observed inside the SUV, and she showed "obvious signs of death," according to state police. She was declared dead at 7:23 p.m. by Boston EMS.
An examination of Mbitu revealed large slash wounds on her face and neck area and a puncture wound to her side.
The warrant also said Kangethe obtained airline tickets for Kenya the day before they found Mbitu's body. Surveillance footage showed him leaving the Central Parking Garage moments after his SUV was captured on video surveillance footage entering the garage. He was then seen entering the Logan airport terminal area and checking into a flight.
