A Lowell man is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death, leaving her body in a car parked at Logan Airport before fleeing to Kenya.
A manhunt continues for the person believed to be responsible for a horrific murder.
Margaret Mbitu, 31, of Whitman, Massachusetts, was reported missing Monday. Just two days later, police say they found her body in an SUV parked inside a garage at Boston Logan International Airport.
Officials believe they know the man responsible -- Mbitu's boyfriend, 40-year-old Kevin Kangethe, of Lowell, and they've obtained a warrant for his arrest. But it could be some time before they catch him.
According to their investigation, Kangethe boarded a plane from Logan to Kenya immediately after the incident.
The warrant for Kangethe's arrest, released Friday morning, shows that Massachusetts State Police responded to Logan's Central Parking Garage at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and found Kangethe's vehicle, a white 2013 Toyota Venza, inside.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office released images of Kangethe Friday afternoon.
Surveillance cameras had captured images of the vehicle in Lowell and Chelsea a day earlier.
Investigators said they found an "unresponsive individual," later identified as Mbitu, in the front passenger seat. A large amount of blood was observed inside the SUV, and she showed "obvious signs of death," according to state police. She was declared dead at 7:23 p.m. by Boston EMS.
An examination of Mbitu revealed large slash wounds on her face and neck area and a puncture wound to her side.
The warrant also says Kangethe obtained airline tickets for Kenya early Tuesday morning. Surveillance footage showed him leaving the Central Parking Garage moments after his SUV was captured on video surveillance footage entering the garage. He was then seen entering the Logan airport terminal area and checking into a flight.
Investigators are now working with officials in Kenya to get a hold of Kangethe.
All while Mbitu's family members, friends and co-workers try to wrap their heads around what happened.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
"We have lost a beautiful girl that we all loved," her cousin, George Kamu, said. "Whenever you saw that beautiful smile, that's what you would see all the time."
"She was a bright shining star, she had her future, her whole future, ahead of her," Mbitu's cousin Virginia Ndungu said. "She had ambition, she had drive. She was a beautiful soul and I think her loss is not just a loss to us but to her friends and to her coworkers and her patients, and to the entire community."
Mbitu's family is so proud of all she accomplished, moving to the U.S. from Kenya, going to school and becoming a passionate nurse.
"It's a huge loss," said Ulea Lago, a representative of BAMSI in Brockton, the nonprofit where Mbitu worked. "She was an amazing young woman. People described her as having a ray of sunshine."
Mbitu's mother says she's still processing having her youngest child taken from her in such a horrific way.
"I don't get it. I don't get how somebody would take somebody's life away for no reason, even now I have so many questions," Rose Mbitu said. "The only thing I would now say to Kevin wherever he is, just surrender his life to God because it is only God who can change whatever mentality is in his mind of whatever he did."
In addition to working with officials in Kenya, police also say they're looking through surveillance video from the parking garage to see if they can gather more evidence.
