A cleaner at a South B Airbnb testified yesterday that murder suspect John Matara paid her Sh 3,200 in cash, just hours before socialite Starlet Wahu was found brutally murdered in the same apartment.
Taking the stand at the Milimani High Court, Angelica Muthoni, a long-time cleaner for businesswoman Jane Wairimu Mutungi, told Justice Alexander Muteti that she interacted briefly with a man, identified as Matara, on January 3, 2024, around 5:30 p.m. outside Papino Apartments, Room Y32.
“My boss Jane Wairimu Mutungi sent me to collect money from a guest. When I knocked, a man opened the door. I told him I had come to collect Sh 3,200. He handed me the cash,” Muthoni testified.
While being read in evidence in chief by State Prosecutor Mercy Njoroge, the cleaner said she did not enter the apartment and spoke with the man at the door.
“He was dark, had slightly long hair, and was tall. I had never seen him before. He gave me the money using his right hand. I did not notice any blood or injuries on him.”
According to Muthoni, the man also asked about the WiFi password and said he wanted to check out at 12 p.m. the following day, but she reminded him that the checkout time was 10 a.m. She later confirmed to the court that the man she met that evening is the same person currently on trial.
“The person in the dock is the same person I met that day at Room Y32,” she stated firmly.
Hours after that interaction, Starlet Wahu’s body was discovered inside the apartment with signs of a violent struggle.
Under questioning from Matara’s lawyer, Samuel Ayor, Muthoni added that she did not witness any commotion at the time she visited, nor could she tell how many people were inside the apartment.
“I didn’t see or hear anything suspicious. I did not see Matara leave the apartment later that night in a towel soaked in blood, as claimed.”
Muthoni also said she recorded a statement at Makadara Police Station following the incident.
She has worked with Wairimu since 2022, helping clean her Airbnb properties and also works at her salon located in Sanasana, South B.
