Kenyan police arrest slain athlete Tirop’s husband

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 04, 2018, Agnes Jebet Tirop of Kenya celebrates after winning second place in the women’s 3000 meters race during the Diamond League athletics competition at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha. – Record-breaking Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop was found dead on October 13, 2021, with stab wounds to her stomach in a suspected homicide, athletics officials said. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)

Nairobi, Kenya — Kenyan police said Thursday they had arrested the husband of record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop after she was found stabbed to death in her home this week.

“The suspect has been arrested in (the coastal city of) Mombasa,” George Kinoti, the Director of Criminal Investigations, told AFP. “He is in custody and he was arrested while fleeing.”

Kinoti said a team had been set up to track down the husband, Emmanuel Rotich, after Tirop’s body was found in their home in the high-altitude athletics training center of Iten on Wednesday.

Tirop was considered a fast-rising star in distance running and her death shocked the nation and the world of athletics, with tributes pouring in for the 25-year-old.

Kinoti said the suspect was expected to appear in court on Friday, adding: “He will face charges once investigations are completed.”

Police issued pictures of the suspect, showing him in handcuffs and wearing a grey T-shirt with a red and white logo.