Months after popular and talented athlete Agnes Tirop was killed by her husband, the athletics community has been left shocked by the tragic death of another runner Damaris Muthee Mutua.
The body of Mutua, 28, who holds dual Kenyan-Bahraini nationality, was found decomposing in a house in Iten on Wednesday, Tom Makori, the town’s police commander, confirmed. Her Ethiopian boyfriend was a suspect, he added.
Police identified Mutua’s boyfriend as Ethiopian runner Koki Fai and have launched a manhunt to locate him. He had been training at the same facility and has since fled Kenya, according to police.
“The suspect called a friend whom they were training together and informed him that he has killed a girlfriend and the body was in the house,” Makori said.
According to Mutua’s immediate neighbor, her boyfriend was seen in the house on Sunday morning, Makori noted.
“It’s likely that the incident happened late Saturday or early Sunday since the body was in a state of decomposition.“
Damaris won two bronze medals for Kenya at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.
She also competed for Kenya at the East African junior athletics championships in Khartoum, before switching allegiance to Bahrain.
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