Suspect in deadly gas attack on Olympian also dies

The ex-boyfriend accused of killing Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei with a gas attack has died from burns he reportedly sustained at the same time. Dickson Ndiema, 32, died Monday in the intensive care unit of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya, where he and Cheptegei were taken on September 1. Ndiema is said to have hidden in Cheptegei’s home before dousing her with petrol and setting her alight. She died on Thursday with burns to more than 80% of her body. Gas was also splashed on Ndiema, who suffered burns to more than 40% of his body, the BBC reported. “He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe burns to the airways and sepsis which eventually led to his death,” the hospital said.

Before Ndiema died, police were preparing to charge him with the murder of Cheptegei. New York Times reports. Police believe the attack stemmed from “a dispute over the ownership of land one of them had purchased,” officials told the Daily Beast. Now, “the criminal case has been dropped and an investigation into the two deaths is being opened instead,” the BBC reports. Cheptegei, 33, who represented Uganda at the Paris Olympics, will be buried Saturday at her family home in Bukwo, Uganda. (Paris officials have suggested naming a sports venue after her.)