Local church to raise money to return Kenyan woman's dead body home from US
The family of a woman killed in a double shooting last week is desperate to bring her body back home – to Kenya.Federal Way police responded to the shooting last week in the 2000 block of SW 306th Lane. Two sisters were shot -- one did not survive. Their 85-year-old roommate, Beverly Jenne, has been charged with first-degree murder and assault.“
It’s something that really caught us by surprise, but we have to deal with it the best way we can,” Festus Gumbo said. “The news was devastating and I was kind of in shock. I couldn’t believe it.”
Gumbo tells KOMO News he first met Janet Oyuga, the woman who died, three years ago. She came to him at True Vine Seventh Day Adventist Church -- where he's a pastor -- needing prayer. Now, he’s praying for support as the family goes through the process of working with the Kenyan Embassy in Washington, D.C. They want to bring Oyuga’s body to Nairobi.
“There are a lot of things that go with transporting a body to another country outside of the U.S.,” Gumbo said.
He’s now rallying his congregation for financial help in making the ordeal a little easier.
“The faster we can raise the funds to get done with this and get the body back to Kenya, it will relieve a lot of our pain.”
Oyuga’s sister, Angela, was the second person shot. Gumbo says she just recently was sent home from the hospital and is still recovering.
“At the same time, it is overwhelming because we have to take care of the spiritual component and the emotional component and psychological component for Angela,” he said.
Gumbo says their family is also working with the U.S. Embassy in Kenya to arrange travel to Seattle for a memorial service.
The church will hold a fundraiser on January, 4 at 4 p.m. It’s located in the same building as Lakeridge Lutheran Church at 7465 S 112th Street in Seattle.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe page has been started to help raise costs for travel and the transportation of Oyuga’s body.
The shooting
Investigators have determined Jenne had owned the home where the shooting happened. The home had gone into foreclosure. Another person bought the residence but allowed the two roommates to lease-to-own the house while it was being renovated. They allowed Jenne to stay there until she could find somewhere else to live.
But after the attack, investigators found a note inside a gun holster in Jenne's car which stated that the murder victim "was not a nice person. She drove me to this," according to court documents. She went on to detail other conflicts and even her requested cemetery plot, finally noting that officers would find her will under the front seat, prosecutors said. The note was signed and dated about two hours before the 911 call reporting the shooting.
In requesting $1 million bail, prosecutors told the judge "although the defendant has no known criminal history, her actions in this case demonstrate she is a significant threat to the community safety if released."
Jenne's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 6.