A 19-year-old woman was arrested over claims she killed her mother-in-law and partially burnt her body in a domestic fight in a village in Kitui county.

The body of Veronica Ndinda Maneene, 55 was found outside her home in Ikutha after the Saturday February 24 night incident, police said.

She had been hit by a blunt object and partially burnt using a mattress, police who visited the scene said.

The team investigating the murder said preliminary findings show the woman hit her mother-in-law in the head after a domestic quarrel.

The reasons for the quarrel is yet to be disclosed. The slain woman and the suspect were the only ones who were in the house then, police said.

After the murder, she dragged the body outside the house and partially burnt it using pieces of old mattresses before heaping loose stones on it.

Police arrived at the scene and found the body partially covered by the stones.

The body was moved to Mutomo Level Four Hospital mortuary for preservation and postmortem.

The suspect Faith Mwikali Mwania aged 19 years was arrested pending arraignment, police said.

The security officers said they are investigating the motive of the murder.

Police plan to make a miscellaneous application in court to detain her for mental assessment before she is charged.

Cases of murder are on the rise amid efforts to address the trend. Some cases remain unsolved, police say.