A man from Kenya who has been living in a hotel in Putnam is suspected of trying to hire a hitman to kill a family member to bring other family members back to Kenya, according to statements made in court Tuesday.
State police arrested Leonard Thuo Mwithiga, 52, on Monday, two days after a confidential informant went to state police and reported that Mwithiga had asked for his help to find a hitman to kill one of his family members, according to court documents.
The informant told police that Mwithiga traveled back and for between the United States and Kenya between Sept. 9 and Dec. 1 and he asked several times about arranging for a hitman.
Court documents mentioned some specific instances.
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They said that on Oct. 26, Mwithiga contacted the man and asked if he knew someone who could “hit” the family member and he wanted to “put that woman down.”
Then, on Nov. 3, Mwithiga asked the informant if he knew anyone who could “hit” the woman and that he wanted someone to “finish her.”
And on Dec. 1, he asked the informant to hire a hitman and said it was OK if she was injected with something that made her very sick, “like a cancer,” according to court documents.
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An undercover state trooper posed as the “hitman,” who was supposed to take the victim on a date and drug her, court documents state.
Mwithiga said he wanted the death to happen between Jan. 28, 2024 and Feb. 3, 2024, when he would be in Kenya and would not be a suspect, according to court records.
Mwithiga was arrested and charged with criminal attempt/intimidation of a witness, conspiracy to commit murder and criminal attempt, murder with special circumstances.
Mwithiga, who has been staying at a Putnam hotel for the last month while he addresses legal matters, left his job in June and was planning to return to Kenya on Thursday, according to statements made in court.
Prosecutors argued that Mwithiga has limited ties to the community and is a flight risk and asked for bond to be set at $5 million.
Mwithiga’s public defender said his client, who was a manager at a bank and has a degree from the University of Kenya, maintains his innocence and asked for bond to be set at $250,000.
The bond has been set at $5 million.
Mwithiga must surrender all firearms and the judge granted a full no-contact protective order for any victims and cooperating witnesses.
The judge said minor children are involved and Mwithiga must stay 2,500 feet away from protected persons at all times.
If he posts bond, Mwithiga must surrender his passport and cannot leave Connecticut. He would need to be on GPS monitoring and be on around-the-clock lockdown.
The next court date is set for Jan. 26.
