Police have arrested and charged 21-year-old Alexander Kinyua, a former Morgan State University engineering student, with first-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault after allegedly discovering what they believe are the head and hands of Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, his housemate in their Joppatowne, Md. home.
According to charging documents, the gruesome discovery was reported May 29 after Jarrod Kinyua, the alleged suspect’s younger brother, found the human remains in a basement laundry room of the home.
Kinyua also told police when he was arrested May 30 that he consumed parts of his brain and heart. He had been free on $220,000 bail for a May 19 assault.
“Motive has not been determined yet. This is still a very active and ongoing investigation,” said Monica Worrell, spokeswoman for the Harford County sheriff’s Office. “It is not believed at this time that the incident is related to drug use.” They did not say if he had been tested for drug use.
Charging documents state that Jarrod Kinyua “confronted his brother who denied the remains were human and stated that they were animal remains.” Their father, AntonyKinyua, was summoned but when the basement was searched, Jarrod Kinyua told police, “the items he observed were gone and… Alex Kinyua was cleaning the container he observed them in.”
Police were summoned, the suspected human remains were found in another part of the house and Kinyua was arrested, telling police that “he had caused the death of Mr. Kodie by cutting him up with a knife” and then “directed detectives to 536 Trimble Rd, the Town Baptist Church, and stated the remaining pieces of Mr. Kodie’s body could be located in a dumpster on the property.” Police confirmed his assertion.
The Harford County chief medical examiner confirmed late Friday night that the remains are those of Agyei-Kodie.
Agyei-Kodie was first reported missing from the home at 535 Terrapin Terrace on May 25 by Kinyua’s father. The Ghana native, described by friends as an exceptional engineering student with multiple degrees who was not currently enrolled in classes, left the residence around 5:30 am for a morning run with no cell phone, identification, or wallet.
Kinyua could face the death penalty for murder, up to 25 years in prison for the alleged first-degree assault, and ten years or a $2,500 fine for second-degree assault. His parents held an event at a community church in Northeast Baltimore to raise money for his defense May 31.
Kinyua had been dismissed from MSU’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program in January for disciplinary reasons. He subsequently posted online statements about cults, ethnic cleansing and school shootings, according to CBS News. The FBI is investigating.
According to local NBC News affiliate, WBAL, this was Kinyua’s second arrest for a violent attack in just one month. On May 19 the third-year engineering student at Morgan State University was charged with randomly attacking another student with a baseball bat, fracturing the victim’s skull and causing the victim to lose an eye.
Kinyua was expelled for the incident and had been living at home only one week before the family friend went missing.
Kinyua was denied bail in his May 31 hearing and is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center.
A Kenya native, Kinyua was a member of the ROTC’s Pershing Rifles, but not a part of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).
“He was an average guy,” said Aaron Trent, a junior at Morgan State. “He wasn’t a talkative person and kept to himself.”
Internet accounts linked to the college student on various websites show that Kinyua was a fan of warfare and messages posted to his Facebook account in the months leading up to the killing warn of violence.
On Valentine’s Day 2012 Kinyua wondered on Facebook if other students were “strong enough to endure ritual HBCU mass human sacrifices around the country and still be able to function as human beings?” The rant on Kinyua’s page also makes a comment on the Virginia Tech mass shooting and continues that “ethnic cleansing is the policy, strategy and tactics that will affect you, directly or indirectly in the coming months.”
CNN reported that Kinyua was one of 175 students showcased in an August 2011 symposium run by Los Alamos National Laboratory. His study focused on the cost-effectiveness and productivity of “comfort control” systems regulating heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
The Huffington Post noted that the Kinyua arrest comes in the wake of a similar attack in Miami on May 26 when Rudy Eugene, 31, was killed by cops while in the process of gnawing on a homeless man’s face. The victim, Ronald Poppo, 65, is alive, but the bizarre flesh-eating attack left doctors wondering how to reassemble his facial features.
