Slain Kenyan Nurse and Daughters to be Buried in US, Family Says

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Mary Njoki Muchemi (right) was killed alongside her two daughters by her husband. Left: Ms Muchemi with her husband Gary Stanton and their daughters Brianna Stanton (carried) and Andrianna Stanton. Ms Muchemi and her daughters are to be buried in the US.

By George Munene

Nation Media Group

A Kenyan nurse and her two daughters who were killed in the United States will be buried there, the family has said.

Njoki Muchemi, 49, was shot dead by her husband together with their two daughters Andrianna Stanton, 17, and Brianna Stanton, 11 at Louisville in Kentucky.

After the fatal shooting, Ms Njoki's husband, Gary Stanton turned the gun on himself.

The two families have agreed that the victims will be laid to rest in the US where they were citizens.

According to Moses Muchemi, a brother of Ms Njoki, the victims will be buried on December 22.

"Both families had a lengthy discussion and resolved that the burial should take place in the US," said Mr Muchemi, a software engineer.

Some of the late Ms Njoki's family members who live in Kenya are preparing to travel to the US to give her a befitting send-off.

"I and my two brothers and our uncle shall soon be leaving for the US to give the final respects to our beloved sister," said Mr Muchemi. 

Mr Stanton, 60, went violent and sprayed bullets on the victims, killing the trio instantly for unknown reasons. The assailant then took away his life.

It is not clear what provoked Mr Stanton to wipe out his entire family.

Mr Muchemi described Mr Stanton as a “good man who loved his wife and children and the fatal shooting came as a shock to everyone”.

"Mr Stanton loved his wife and children and we never thought he would make such a shocking decision. Even now we are still reeling in shock," said Mr Muchemi, the younger brother of Ms Njoki.

The family admitted that Ms Njoki and her husband were quite conservative, though they lived large.

"Mr Stanton and his family lived a good life. They were people of means and their lifestyle was admired by many," Mr Muchemi reiterated.

Short illness

Before the shocking incident, Ms Njoki and her husband visited Kirinyaga at Kiamaina village in October to bury her father, Geoffrey Migwi, who died after a short illness.

Mr Migwi passed on at Lakewood in Washington and Mr Stanton contributed largely in transporting his body to Kirinyaga for burial.

According to the family, Mr Stanton met most of the body transportation costs of the deceased who was also residing abroad.

After the burial, Mr Stanton and his wife were in the area for three weeks. 

However, Mr Stanton returned to the US to prepare his daughters for the opening of school, leaving his wife behind and Mr Muchemi to pursue succession matters.

After Mr Stanton arrived back in the US, he would call on a daily basis to check on his wife.

"Mr Stanton had a passion for his wife. He and my sister shared bank accounts, they were honest to each other and no one expected that their good relationship would end in a bloodbath," said Mr Muchemi.

He said it was sad that Ms Njoki was eliminated a few weeks after burying her father.

Ms Njoki flew to the US more than 10 years ago to seek greener pastures. 

It is here where she met a man of her heart who as fate would have snuffed her life and those of her daughters.

Mr Muchemi said the family is eager to know what provoked Mr Stanton “to do the unthinkable.”

He recalled that before the incident, Mr Stanton and Ms Njoki had planned to start a private medical business together in the US.

"The couple had a good dream of becoming entrepreneurs before the worst happened," said Mr Muchemi.

He said as a family they were in deep pain following what happened to Ms Njoki and her daughters but they had nothing they can do.

"Lives have been lost and what we can do at the moment is to forget everything and bury the victims as we wait for the conclusion of investigations by the US detectives," added Mr Muchemi who works in Kerugoya town.