Police say they are treating the husband of the late athlete Agnes Tirop as the main suspect in her murder.
The World’s 10,000 metres bronze medalist was found dead at her home on Rural Estate near Iten town in Elgeyo Marakwet on Wednesday. Her body had a stab wound in the neck.
The husband, Emmanuel Ibrahim Kipleting, has been missing since the incident with police probing possible love triangle links in the murder.
Tirop’s parents claim that before the suspect went missing he called them crying and seeking forgiveness for “an incident” he said he had committed.
The couple had reportedly been experiencing marital problems.
Keiyo North police boss Tom Makori told the press that police are currently pursuing the suspect since preliminary investigations indicated that he was either the prime suspect or knew the details leading to the 25-year-old’s death.
Read: President Uhuru Mourns Athlete Agnes Tirop, Calls for Expedited Probe
“Because the husband is missing and because of the call he made to her parents, we are treating him as the prime suspect,” said Makori.
The deceased’s parents, the police boss said, reported their daughter’s disappearance on Tuesday night at about 8pm. The report was filed at Iten police.
“Today (Wednesday) the parents came to follow up on the matter and said the husband had called them seeking forgiveness over an incident he committed,” he said.
Also Read: Kenyan Athlete Agnes Tirop Found Dead in Her Iten House
The officers at the station proceeded to Tirop’s house where they forced their way in and found her body in the bedroom.
“The husband is a suspect in the killing because he is missing and because of the call he made to the parents seeking forgiveness,” the police boss said.
The crime scene was combed by homicide detectives as the probe into the murder intensifies. The officers also collected CCTV footage from the house for analysis.
Also Read: Kenyan Athlete Hosea Mwok Found Dead at West Pokot Home
Tirop represented Kenya in 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics in July and August this year. Her husband, who also doubled up as her coach, didn’t accompany her to Japan.
Last week, she finished an impressive second, timing 30:20 at the Valencia Half Marathon.
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