A man who went berserk Saturday night killing four close family members in Muhoroni subcounty, Kisumu county was Sunday night arrested.

Police said the suspect,28, was arrested at a sugar plantation in the area while frail after he had swallowed a cattle dip poisonous chemical.

He had tried to die by suicide before he was caught, police said.

The suspect was arrested in Kamswa village and later told police and locals he would die anytime as he had swallowed the chemical.

Police rushed him to Muhoroni subcounty Hospital where he was admitted under watch.

It is not clear at what point he had swallowed the poison, police said.

Nyanza police chief Patrick Tito said they will wait for his recovery for interrogation and further action.

“We thank residents who helped in the arrest of the suspect as we investigate the incident,” he said.

Tito said they are yet to establish the motive of the killings but hoped they will do so soon.

Residents and police said the suspect picked a machete before killing his expectant wife of five months first, then turned to his only six-year-old son who was then sleeping in a bed.

Their bodies were found in a pool of blood.

A relative said an uncle of the suspect and his stepmother too were killed in the 9 pm incident.

The man reportedly lured the 70-year-old uncle to come out of his house to intervene in an imaginary fight between some family members.

“The moment he stepped out, he was hacked on the head twice and he dropped down dead,” the relative said.

He is also said to have killed his 58-year-old aunt who was the wife to the deceased uncle before disappearing into a nearby sugarcane plantation.

Residents described him as a man who has had no history of violence.

“He does not drink alcohol nor bhang, whatever that got to his head to commit this heinous act stiff baffles me,” another relative said.

The suspect then fled into the sugarcane plantation leaving the villagers terrified of where next he would strike.

Police said the villagers did not sleep opting to keep vigil at least the suspect re-appears to attack.

The suspect is said to have even bought lunch for the family on Saturday before he turned violent hours later.

He was arrested a day later on Sunday.

Police transferred the bodies of the victims to the Ahero subcounty Hospital mortuary pending postmortem examinations.