Trial date set for Lynn man accused of stabbing woman in front of children

SALEM – Patrick Waweru, the Lynn man who lured his ex-girlfriend from Delaware and then allegedly stabbed her to death some 20 times in the presence of their two young children in 2007 will go on trial in March.In Salem Superior Court on Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Jessica P. Connors and defense lawyer Russell C. Sobelman requested that Judge Timothy Q. Feeley set down the case for trial on March 8.Sobelman said the “facts will not be disputed, the trial should be a week long and that a criminal responsibility issue would be the defense which would involve medical and mental health experts from each side.Waweru, also known as “Mwangi,” 30, who last lived at 4 Kingsley Terrace in Lynn, stands charged with murder in the first degree in connection with the Oct. 15, 2007 stabbing death of Esther W. Kinyanjui, a registered nurse.In June of 2007 Kinyanjui and their two young children along with Esther’s 57-year-old mother, Ruth Nyamu, moved from Massachusetts to Delaware.A few days before the murder, Waweru apparently called Kinyanjui in Delaware, telling her that there was a court hearing she must attend regarding the apartment they once shared in Peabody, luring her here under false pretensesShe drove up to Massachusetts with their children and her mother on the night of Oct. 13 and went to her sister’s home at 130 Adams St., Lynn.Waweru met up with Kinyanjui the day before the incident and again on Oct. 15 at his Kingsley Terrace apartment.Shortly after 9:30 p.m., she convinced him to take her back to her sister’s home by promising him she would retrieve her possessions in Delaware and return to live with him in Massachusetts.When they arrived at her sister’s home, she went inside to the basement area where her mother and sister Margaret were and told them that Waweru had misled her, there was no court hearing and that Waweru had held her hostage all day at his apartment.She went on to tell her family that Waweru was outside in the car but, in the meantime, Waweru apparently became suspicious and forced his way into the home.He first lunged at Margaret, striking her on the head with a 2×4 piece of lumber, while allegedly yelling “I have to kill Esther.”Then he struck Esther with the lumber and dropped it.Margaret told police she quickly retrieved the lumber, ran upstairs and out of the apartment with one of the children yelling for help.Waweru then is alleged to have pulled a knife from his sock and began repeatedly stabbing Esther in the neck, chest, back and arms before fleeing from the scene.When police responded to the scene they found Kinyanjui slumped against a washing machine in a pool of blood. She had sustained more than 20 stab wounds to her body.Police arrested Waweru at his apartment shortly after the incident. He appeared to be under the influence of narcotics, police said.The couple had been involved in a relationship for approximately six years in which Waweru had reportedly abused and threatened her numerous times.Waweru, who has a history of mental illness, has pleaded innocent to eight indictments which include murder in the first degree, two counts of home invasion and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of reckless child endangerment and a single count of armed assault with intent to murder in connection with the case.At trial, Sobelman will argue that Waweru’s actions were due to his mental state.Connors will present evidence that Waweru was not impaired and committed the crime with deliberate premeditation.In the meantime, Waweru remains held on no bail at the Middleton Jail.A conviction on the murder one charge carries a life sentence behind bars with no chance of parole.