An accused serial killer dubbed “a vampire” and suspected of murdering 42 women has escaped from custody with 12 other detainees, Kenyan officials said Tuesday, September 20.

Mohamed Amin, the head of the nation’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations, said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha of Kenya and other suspects from Eritrea had been allowed to escape from Nairobi’s Gigiri police station with the help of eight officers, including the station commanders.

Officials claim the inmates cut through a wire mesh in their cells and scaled a perimeter wall, with top brass only learning of the escape when officers went to the cells to serve the detainees breakfast.

After the escape, police found several cell phones and a machete in Khalusha’s home when they did a search there.

“Our preliminary investigations indicate that the escape was aided by insiders, considering that officers were deployed accordingly to guard the station,” Amin said.

“This was a high-value suspect who was to face serious charges,” Amin said of Khalusha, 33 — who police have described as “a vampire, a psychopath.”

The breakout occurred after officials ordered Khalusha to remain under police custody for another week as detectives continued to investigate the 42 homicides linked to him.

Khalusha was arrested in July after authorities were made aware of the discovery of 10 mutilated bodies inside a quarry in Nairobi’s Kware neighborhood.

When he was initially taken into custody, Amin described the suspect as a “psychopathic serial killer who has no respect for human life.”

Khalusha’s lawyer, John Maina Ndegwa, previously told reporters that his client was innocent and that his confession was made after he was allegedly tortured by police.

“I’m also confused by the news,” he told The Associated Press.

The eight officers accused of helping Khalusha and the other inmates escape are now facing disciplinary measures, according to acting Police Inspector General Gilbert Masengeli.