Tragic Family Incident in Bomet: Mother Kills Two Children, Takes Her Own Life Amid Battle With Depression
A family in Chebisian village, Bomet County, is in deep sorrow after a 35-year-old woman, who was reportedly battling depression, killed her two children before committing suicide.
Lorna Cherono, 35, allegedly used a blunt metallic object to murder her children, 10-year-old Abigael Chepkorir and five-year-old Amos Kipchirchir, before hanging herself on Saturday.
Ms. Cherono leaves behind a secondary school-aged son who was in Kericho County when the tragedy occurred.
She and her children were alone at her brother’s home when the incident happened, as other family members were away.
“I was in Kericho, and my wife had gone to visit my in-laws, leaving my sister at home. She didn’t show any signs of depression when I spoke with her on the phone on Friday,” said Ms. Cherono’s brother, David Bett.
Mr. Bett, who works in Kericho, recounted that he had traveled home and went straight to church for Saturday service, hoping to meet his family there.
“During the service, my cousin called me outside and asked me to leave and get into a vehicle outside the church. We drove home, and they informed me of the tragedy before entering the compound,” he told Gossipa2z.com.
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Upon arrival, he found several villagers and passers-by gathered at the homestead.
“I don’t know if I could have saved them had I gone home directly instead of heading to church,” Mr. Bett said.
Although police reported that Cherono used a panga to kill her children, family members and residents who first arrived at the scene said a blunt metallic object was used.
Mr. Bett revealed that his sister had been battling depression since 2015.
“Lorna had intermittent bouts of depression, but she showed no signs of illness before the incident,” he said.
“Even during her depressive episodes, she had not exhibited suicidal tendencies. The murder and suicide shocked us all.”
When Gossipa2z.com visited the scene on Sunday, the homestead bore clear signs of the tragedy. Blood-stained bedding, clothes, and shoes had been moved outside but remained untouched. The floor of the grass-thatched, mud-walled house, which served as a kitchen, had been freshly covered with soil to hide the bloodstains.
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“Initially, we thought the children were alive due to the fresh blood splattered on the clothes and the floor. But we discovered they had died along with their mother. The children’s bodies lay on the floor, while Ms. Cherono’s body was found hanging from a rope tied to the rafters,” said Paul Mutai, a local villager who was among the first at the scene.
Another neighbor, David Rotich, highlighted the family’s dire situation and emphasized the need for community support.
“Both their parents died within three years – their mother, Edna Laboso, in 2015, and their father, William Laboso, in 2018, leaving the six children to fend for themselves at a young age,” he said.
“All the family members do casual jobs to earn a living,” he added.
He said a fundraiser to cover funeral expenses was scheduled for Thursday, with the funeral set for Friday.
On Sunday, villagers continued to offer support, with women fetching water and firewood while elders sat outside the main house discussing how to raise funds for the funeral expenses.
Tragic Family Incident in Bomet: Mother Kills Two Children, Takes Her Own Life Amid Battle With Depression
