BBC worker killed in hotel room, coroner says

Kate Mitchell died in 2021 in Kenya

A BBC charity worker was killed in a Kenyan hotel room by an intruder who then jumped or fell to his death from eight floors up, an inquest has heard.

Kate Mitchell, 42 and originally from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, suffered a head injury and was strangled in November 2021 in Nairobi, Newcastle Coroner's Court heard.

Ms Mitchell had worked for BBC Media Action, the organisation's international development charity, as a project manager in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Zambia.

As a coroner concluded she was unlawfully killed, the charity said its "thoughts and condolences" were with Ms Mitchell's family and loved ones.

'Unanswered questions'

The inquest heard Ms Mitchell had reluctantly left Addis Ababa due to the civil war in Ethiopia and was deployed to the Kenyan capital as a safer option.

It also heard she was found in her room of the Ibis hotel on the eighth floor and that a male intruder had gained entry and attacked her.

Coroner Karin Welsh said: "That man either fell or jumped from the eighth floor bedroom window and he also was found deceased.

"That's the totality of the information we have been able to glean from Nairobi."

A post-mortem examination carried out when Ms Mitchell's body was returned to the UK found she died from a head injury and pressure on the neck.

Ms Welsh concluded that she was unlawfully killed.

She passed on her condolences to Ms Mitchell's family and the coroner told her brother Pete Mitchel: "I know you still have questions, I hope they are answered for you."

'Femicide happens everywhere'

After the hearing, Mr Mitchell told reporters his family was pushing the Kenyan police to reveal more.

They have instructed a lawyer to push for an inquest in Nairobi which could explain more about the circumstances of her murder.

He said his sister was "the smartest person I have met".

"She was lush," he said, adding: "She had worked in Africa for years. She was madly in love with where she lived and the people she worked with."

Mr Mitchell stressed that his sister's murder should not be seen as a risk of living in Africa.

"It was femicide," he said, adding: "It happens in hotels. She was killed in a way women often are. It could have happened in London or Whitley Bay."

BBC Media Action said: "Kate was a devoted and beloved colleague. We miss her and will never forget her."