Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei was in a dispute with her ex-boyfriend over her land when he allegedly doused her in gasoline and torched her to death, one month after representing Uganda at the Paris Games.
Cheptegei, 33, died from multiple organ failure at a hospital Wednesday, four days after boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, allegedly charged at her with a jerrican of fuel and lit her on fire, causing burns to 75% of her body, according to Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom, CNN reported.
Ndiema was allegedly motivated to attack Cheptegei over a disagreement about a plot of land she had purchased to be closer to an elite training facility in Kenya.
He allegedly set her ablaze after she returned home from church with her two daughters, the BBC reported, citing police.
Ndiema, who was also burned in the incident, continues to recover at an area hospital.
It's unclear if he has been charged in her death.
"I blame her death on negligence by the government because the authorities should have taken it seriously when we first reported that this man [Ndiema] had become problematic and he was fighting her," Cheptegei's father, Joseph, told reporters outside the hospital his daughter died Thursday, according to CNN. "We reported to the police, to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations but they didn't take any action to save her life."
Cheptegei died after placing 44th in the marathon at her first Olympic Games in August.
