International manhunt launched after disappearance of woman found dead at Boston airport

A missing woman who was found dead Wednesday in a parking lot at Boston’s Logan International Airport was murdered and her killer has since boarded a plane bound for Kenya, authorities said.

Margaret Mbitu, 31, was found dead inside a vehicle in the airport parking lot after her family reported her missing Monday, according to a news release from the Massachusetts State Police.

Authorities have identified Kevin Kangethe, 40, as a suspect in the homicide. The two men knew each other and police say they believe the homicide was not a random act.

“At approximately 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, Massachusetts State Troopers assigned to the Logan Airport Barracks located a vehicle occupied by a deceased adult female in the Logan Airport Central Garage,” they said. indicated the authorities in their press release. press. “A subsequent investigation by the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit and state police Troop F detectives confirmed that the victim was the missing Whitman woman, Margaret Mbitu, 31. . The evidence indicates that she was the victim of a homicide.”

Authorities believe Kangethe is now in Kenya and Massachusetts State Police detectives have obtained an arrest warrant and say they are working with Kenyan authorities to locate him.

“We urge this suspect to surrender to authorities before he or anyone else is harmed,” Suffolk County Prosecutor Kevin Hayden said in a statement Friday. “We are making every effort to apprehend him and begin the process of seeking justice for Margaret Mbitu and those who mourn her tragic death.”

There is no threat to the public or travelers at Logan Airport and no further information is being released at this time to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, police said.