Lynn man indicted in murder of kids’ mom

SALEM – A Lynn man who lured his ex-girlfriend from Delaware and then murdered her in the presence of their two young children has been indicted by an Essex County grand jury.Patrick Waweru, also known as Mwangi, 28, of 4 Kingsley Ter., is charged with murder in the first degree in connection with the Oct. 15 stabbing death of Esther W. Kinyanjui.Police say Waweru convinced Kinyanjui to drive from Delaware, where she had moved with their two children, on the pretense he needed her help to resolve a matter in court involving both of them. They apparently met the day before the incident and again on the day of the incident at his Kinglsey Terrace apartment.It was shortly after 9:30 p.m. when she convinced him to drive her back to her sister’s home at 130 Adams St.When she went inside, Waweru stayed outside, but then apparently forced his way through the door to the basement room where the victim, her sister and their mother were talking.Waweru allegedly hit Kinyanjui’s sister, Margaret, on the head with a heavy board, before stabbing Kinyanjui, a registered nurse, numerous times in the neck in the basement.Their mother, Ruth, suffered hand wounds attempting to stop Waweru from stabbing her daughter to death, police say.The 31-year-old mother of two girls, ages 1 and 4, died at North Shore Medical Center in Salem.In addition to the first-degree murder charge, Waweru also is charged with two counts of home invasion, armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and wanton endangerment of his children in connection with the case.Waweru, an immigrant from Kenya, Africa, is held without bail at the Middleton Jail.A conviction on the murder charge would put Waweru in prison for the rest of his life.He is expected to be arraigned in Salem Superior Court within a week.Assistant District Attorney Kate B. MacDougall is prosecuting the case for the commonwealth and Russell Sobelman of Lynn is the defense lawyer.