The 86-year-old mother of former television host and actress Regina Re died from heavy bleeding caused by multiple stab wounds to the neck, a postmortem examination conducted in Nairobi on Tuesday has shown.

Dorita Lasinder Macharia was found dead at her home in Loresho, an upmarket estate in Nairobi, on the night of Friday, October 30, just days after her 86th birthday.

What the pathologist found

Government pathologist Dr Bernard Midia, who led the examination at Lee Funeral Home alongside two other pathologists, said the elderly woman suffered "multiple stab wounds to the neck with injury to the blood vessels", which led to severe external bleeding.

According to Citizen Digital and K24, which reported on the findings, the body had more than 20 cut wounds, most of them on the face and neck, as well as a fracture of the left upper arm.

  • Cause of death: excessive bleeding from neck wounds that damaged blood vessels
  • More than 20 cut wounds, mainly on the face and neck
  • A fractured left upper arm
  • The weapon was likely a sharp blade, possibly sharper than an ordinary kitchen knife, the pathologist said

Lawyer Philip Murgor, who attended the autopsy, said the medical findings had settled how she died. "The rest is entirely up to the DCI to establish the perpetrators and the motive," he said.

Four held for 10 days

On Monday, a court in Nairobi allowed detectives to hold four suspects for 10 days at Gigiri Police Station to give room for investigations. They include Regina Re, whose real name is Regina Wambui Gitau, and three others, among them relatives. None of them has been charged.

The prosecution had asked for 15 days, telling the court that investigators needed time to retrieve CCTV footage from the Loresho estate, record statements from witnesses, analyse fingerprints and obtain the suspects' call data. Police also argued that releasing the four could lead to interference with witnesses.

Defence lawyers opposed the detention, saying their clients had already recorded statements and surrendered their phones, and some challenged the manner in which the arrests were made. The magistrate granted 10 days, citing the early stage of the probe.

Who is Regina Re

Regina Re is best known to many Kenyans as the co-creator and host of the KTN quiz show Who's Smarter Now?, which aired between 1999 and 2006. She also played Hope Baraka in the drama series Makutano Junction.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Gigiri are leading the probe. The suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, and police have not made public their findings on the motive or the sequence of events on the night of the killing.

Photos: Citizen Digital (Dorita Macharia); Kenyans.co.ke (Kibera Law Courts). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.