Detectives in Kenya are investigating the death of a British national in the coastal Kilifi district.
Kilifi police chief Clement Wangai said Sheila Claridge, 86, was found dead in her apartment on June 14. Preliminary investigations indicate Ms Claridge might have committed suicide. Wangai said: “Our officers recovered a poisonous pesticide bottle (Steldone) next to her body. We suspect she poisoned herself but we cannot also rule out foul play.”
Police are waiting for the deceased’s relatives, who are expected to fly to Kenya this week, before they carry out an autopsy. Statements have been taken from a guard and a gardener, amongst others, as police piece together evidence.
Sheila Claridge arrived in Kenya in 1986 with her husband and invested in properties. Her husband died four years later. Police said she was living alone with her dog.
“We have information that she was an avid reader. A neighbour who visited her on Friday morning to borrow a novel said she was well and cheerful as usual with no indication she was stressed (and about) to commit suicide,” said Wangai.
Ms Claridge was the proprietor of Seahorse Apartment, situated within Kilifi town where she had lived since her arrival in Kenya. Police are investigating claims that foreign investors are murdered by people close to them to enable them inherit their properties.
On December 9 last year, an Italian investor was strangled by thugs in the exotic nearby Bofa Estate. No arrest has been made so far.
