Woman reported missing found stabbed to death at Boston airport, suspect sought in Kenya

Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY
·2 min read
Aircraft wait at the terminals at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts on January 31, 2019 on a day where over 2000 flights were cancelled and delayed due to extreme cold and ice conditions caused by the Polar Vortex.
Aircraft wait at the terminals at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts on January 31, 2019 on a day where over 2000 flights were cancelled and delayed due to extreme cold and ice conditions caused by the Polar Vortex.

A Massachusetts woman, who was reported missing on Monday, was found dead in the parking lot of Boston's Logan International Airport on Wednesday, after the man suspected of killing her boarded a flight to Kenya, police said.

Margaret Mbitu's, 31, body was found in a vehicle, on Wednesday evening around 6:30 p.m., according to a news release by the Massachusetts State Police. Authorities said that Mbitu was determined to have been killed, as per initial investigations.

Mbitu was last seen leaving work at about 11 p.m. Monday in Halifax, about 30 miles southeast of Boston, according to the missing person poster.

What happened to Margaret Mbitu?

Prosecutors charged Kevin Kangethe, 40, with killing Mbitu, after investigators said evidence indicates her death to be from homicide.

"The investigation indicates that Kangethe and Ms. Mbitu knew each other and that the homicide was not a random act," police said in a statement. "There is no threat to the public or to Logan Airport travelers."

The police said that Kangethe boarded a flight to Kenya and that investigators in the East African country are trying to locate the man. An arrest warrant has also been issued for Kangethe in connection to Mbitu's homicide.

Local media outlet NBC 10 Boston reported that a large amount of blood was found in the vehicle, while the victim had "large slash wounds on her face and neck area, and a puncture wound on her side".

The local media outlet also said that Kangethe fled soon after, purchasing a ticket for Kenya early Tuesday morning. He was seen entering the airport and checking into the flight in a surveillance video, said NBC 10.

Margaret Mbitu, 30, of Whitman, who was reported missing by her family on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, was found dead in a garage at Logan Airport and an arrest warrant has been issued for Kevin Kangethe, 40, of Lowell, who has boarded a flight to Kenya, according to a written statement from state police on Nov. 2.
Margaret Mbitu, 30, of Whitman, who was reported missing by her family on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, was found dead in a garage at Logan Airport and an arrest warrant has been issued for Kevin Kangethe, 40, of Lowell, who has boarded a flight to Kenya, according to a written statement from state police on Nov. 2.

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Who was Margaret Mbitu?

Mbitu was a resident of Whitman, a town about 23 miles south of Boston. She worked at Brockton Area Multi-Services Inc., a non-profit that works to empower individuals with developmental disabilities and mental and behavioral health challenges.

BAMSI, in a statement posted to Facebook said they were "heartbroken by the tragic murder of Margaret Mbitu".

"She was warm, caring and loved by everyone she worked with, both staff and the people she cared for in our group homes," said BAMSI. "As an agency, we are in mourning over the loss of such an amazing young woman."

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

Contributing: Chris Helms, The Enterprise

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman found dead at Boston Logan airport identified as Margaret Mbitu