Speaking to journalists outside the hospital where she had been treated, her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said that he had lost a daughter who was “very supportive” and asked the Kenyan government to ensure justice is done.
Dr Owen Menach, the head of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, told local media that the athlete had died after all her organs failed.
Cheptegei’s former boyfriend was also admitted to the hospital – but with less severe burns. He is still in intensive care but his condition was “improving and stable”, Dr Menach said.
“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom was quoted by local media as saying.
Ms Cheptegei, from a region just across the border in Uganda, is said to have bought a piece of land in Trans Nzoia county and built a house, to be near Kenya’s many athletic training centres.
Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics.
She also won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.
Her death comes two years after the killings of fellow East African athletes Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, with their partners identified as the main suspects in both cases by the authorities.
Tirop’s husband is currently facing murder charges, which he denies, while a hunt for Mutua’s boyfriend continues.
BBC
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