Olympic Champion Agnes Tirop’s Husband Suspected In Death, Police Say

(CNN) – Kenyan police identified athlete Agnes Tirop’s husband as a “suspect” in her death, after the 25-year-old was stabbed on Wednesday.

Keiyo Northern Sub-county Police Commander Tom Makori told AFP that Tirop’s husband, Emmanuel Rotich, was the subject of a police search.

“The suspect had called Tirop’s parents saying he had done something wrong. So we think he knows what happened, ”Makori said.

Makori provided more details about Tirop’s death in an interview with CNN affiliate Nation TV.

“When the police went to Tirop’s house they found her in bed with blood under the bed and a lot of blood on the floor,” she said. Adding: “When the police looked at the body, it looked like they had stabbed her in the neck , with what we suspect was a knife. “

In a tweet on Wednesday, the Kenya National Police Service (NPS) said that Tirop was the victim of a “heinous crime” and promised “swift and thorough investigations.”

The 25-year-old won bronze medals in the 10,000 meters at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships and finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Games.

Last month, Tirop made history by lowering the old women’s 10km world record by 28 seconds at the Adizero Road To Records event in Germany.

Tirop finished in a time of 30:01, breaking the previous record of 30:29, set by Moroccan Asmae Leghzaoui in 2002.

Aleks Klosok of CNN in London contributed to this report.