How the last text message of a JKUAT first-year student helped solve her murder case after a fire tragedy in their hostel room was later revealed in court.
Faith Vicky Owuor was a 19-year-old first-year student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Juja, Kiambu County.
She had been living at Alpha House, a private hostel near the university, in Room 105.
Faith, originally from Kisumu, had been sharing the room with her boyfriend, Marcel Jumanne Dalance, also a first-year student from Kisumu.
To Faith’s family and friends, the relationship looked ordinary.
Her mother knew she had a boyfriend but had never met him, while her older sister, Nessie Flava Awuor Owino, had known Dalance since the two started dating in high school around 2013.
Little did they know, Dalance had moved into Faith’s room and they were living together.
In the days before her death, their relationship had reportedly become tense.
Faith had reportedly resumed communication with an ex-boyfriend, Ahmed, based in Dubai, who was planning a visit to Nairobi.
That rekindled connection, according to the prosecution, fueled jealousy and conflict between the couple.
On the night of 10 July 2014, Faith and Dalance got into a physical confrontation in the room. After the fight, Faith texted her best friend, Mildred Awando Nekesa, then a University of Nairobi student.
In the messages, Faith explained that the relationship was over and warned that Dalance wanted to kill her.
Those texts, later recovered through forensic analysis, were among the final communications Faith ever sent.
Soon after, a fire broke out in Room 105. Dalance alerted the caretaker, Stephen Ng’ang’a Mwangi, claiming there was a fire and at first suggesting he did not know whether anyone was inside.
Neighbours and other students rushed in to help put out the flames. When the fire was extinguished, Faith’s body was discovered on the bed, burned beyond recognition.
Police investigations concluded the fire was not caused by electrical faults or normal accidents.
Evidence showed the fire was largely confined to the bed area, neighbouring rooms were unaffected, and a post-mortem found
Faith died from complications of severe burns, including inhalation injuries, indicating she was still alive when the fire started.
Dalance was arrested and charged with murder.
He later claimed he had been out with friends and returned to find the room on fire, while also suggesting electricity problems or an accident.
But the court rejected his story, noting the inconsistencies in his explanations and the strong forensic links to the texts Faith had sent.
In Nairobi High Court Criminal Case No. 63 of 2014, the court found him guilty, holding that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.