After gruesome attack

Murder of Cheptegei: Now the perpetrator is dead too!

Rebecca Cheptegei was set on fire by her partner and died in hospital.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

After a fatal attack on Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, the suspected perpetrator has also died. In the gruesome arson attack on the 33-year-old, her former partner also suffered such severe burns that he finally succumbed to his injuries on Monday.

Cheptegei was seriously injured and admitted to hospital on September 1 after she was set on fire. There had allegedly been a dispute between her and her partner over a piece of land, among other things.

The alleged perpetrator is said to have ambushed Cheptegei with a five-liter petrol canister at her home in Trans-Nzoia County in rural western Kenya while she was at church.

Flames inhaled
According to the hospital in Eldoret, Cheptegei was admitted to the intensive care unit with burns to around 80 percent of her body surface. She had also inhaled flames and suffered internal burns. 

Rebecca Cheptegei (2nd from right)

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Four days later, the athlete succumbed to her injuries. The police launched an investigation into attempted murder - but now the attacker is also dead, as the hospital treating her in western Kenya announced on Tuesday.

Still at the start in Paris
Cheptegei had finished 44th in the women's marathon at the Olympic Games in Paris in August. Prior to that, the athlete had finished 14th at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, among others.