A third suspect has reportedly been arrested in connection with the killing of Olympian Agnes Tirop.
Keiyo North sub-County Police Commander Tom Makori confirmed the arrest but declined to disclose the identity of the third suspect, Nation reports.
“There was an unidentified woman who was spotted at the slain athlete’s home a day before her body was discovered. Detectives have had statements from multiple witnesses including friends of the two, which have aided our investigation. Positively identifying the woman won’t be an issue,” said Makori.
He was, however, non-committal as to whether the woman was the third suspect.
“Now that more people including the prime suspect have been arrested, they will assist in exposing images on the CCTV cameras and facilitate conclusive investigations,” Makori added.
“All the loose ends are being tightened and we shall not leave any stone unturned. There are leads on the unidentified woman who was spotted in the athlete’s home a day before the discovery of the body. And now that the prime suspect is in custody, we are going through all the items we have in our possession before concluding the investigations,” said the police commander as quoted by Nation.
Tirop’s estranged husband Ibrahim Rotich and his friend John Kipkoech Samoei, who drove the athlete from a training camp to her house in Iten, are the other suspects.
The police commander said for now Kipkoech will not be charged because investigations were still ongoing as the court had granted police more time to detain him.
“We want to look if he conspired or participated in the murder or aided the suspect in concealing the incident. We are waiting for detectives to conclude their investigations and prefer the charges,” he said.
Meanwhile, the prime suspect Ibrahim Rotich was on Monday arraigned before an Iten court.
The suspect did not take a plea as Prosecutor Judith Ayuma sought 20 more days to hold him in custody.
Magistrate Charles Kutwa granted the request and ordered that the suspect undergoes a mental assessment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) within the 20-day period.
Ibrahim Rotich is being detained at Eldoret Police Station. The case will be mentioned on November 9.
