“We believe it was a suicide,” Oceanside Police Lt. Leonard Mata said. “There is no indication of foul play.”

Police Chief Frank McCoy said Seau’s girlfriend reported finding him unconscious in one of the bedrooms with a gunshot wound to the chest and lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful. A gun was found near him, McCoy said. Police said no suicide note was found and they didn’t immediately know who the gun was registered to.

Further details of the shooting weren’t immediately released.

“I don’t understand … I’m shocked,” Seau’s mother, Luisa, cried as she addressed reporters gathered outside her son’s home.

Her son gave no indication of a problem when she spoke to him by phone earlier this week, she said.

“He’s joking to me, he called me a ‘homegirl,’ ” she said.

According to U-T San Diego, Seau texted his ex-wife, Gina, and their three children individual messages on Tuesday, saying: “I love you.”

“We’re all in shock,” she said. “We’re beyond sad and beyond shocked. The kids and I are just huddled together at home. There is no way to make sense of this.”

“All of us are deeply saddened about Junior Seau, a great player loved by teammates who also worked hard to serve his community,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement released by the league. “Junior and his family will remain in our thoughts.”

“I have no words to describe the passing of Junior Seau,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said in a statement released by the team. “It is a sad, sad day for not only me, but for the whole sports community. I worked with Junior here and later in Miami. I can tell you no one had more character and true leadership ability than Junior. He brought passion to the game of football that was unmatched. His commitment to charitable causes in the community was inspiring. It was an honor to know him. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Chargers president Dean Spanos said: “I can’t put into words how I’m feeling right now. I’m shocked and devastated. Junior was my friend. We all lost a friend today. Junior was an icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn’t just a football player, he was so much more. He was loved by everyone in our family, our organization and throughout the NFL. This is just such a tragic loss. One of the worst things I could ever imagine. My prayers go out to Junior’s family. It’s heartbreaking.”

Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee praised Seau’s impact on the South Florida community during his time with the team.

“Junior was one-of-a-kind. The league will never see anyone like him again,” Dee said in a release. “He will be missed, and on behalf of the Miami Dolphins we want to extend our condolences to his family.”

“We were shocked to hear of the initial reports regarding Junior Seau earlier today and are deeply saddened by the news of his death,” the New England Patriots said in a release. “We were fortunate to have had Junior join the Patriots in 2006 and are thankful for his many contributions to the team over the next four years. He had a legendary NFL career and his unrivaled passion for the game quickly made him a fan favorite here in New England. This is a sad day for the entire Patriots organization, our coaches and his many Patriots teammates. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to his family and his many friends who will mourn this loss.”

Chargers chaplain Shawn Mitchell said he knew Seau well and that the football player hosted Bible studies at his home. He said he visited Seau in the hospital after his car accident in 2010 and he was crying, happy that he had survived.

“He was just grateful to be alive … and he said the angel of God had protected him,” Mitchell said.

“He was Superman, and Superman is no longer with us,” Mitchell told NFL Network.

Family friend Priscilla Sanga said about 50 friends and family members gathered in the garage where Seau’s body lay on a gurney, and they had the opportunity to say goodbye.

“Everybody got to see Junior before they took him away,” Sanga said. “He looked so peaceful and cold. It was disbelief. We all touched him and kissed him.”

Seau said last August after the Chargers announced he would be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame that, “to be part of this kind of fraternity, to be able to go out and play the game that you love, and all the lessons and the friends and acquaintances which you meet along the way, you can’t be in a better arena.”

In October 2010, Seau survived a 100-foot plunge down a seaside cliff in his SUV, hours after he was arrested for investigation of domestic violence at the home he shared with his girlfriend. The woman had told authorities that Seau assaulted her during an argument.

There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol involved in the crash, and Seau told authorities he fell asleep while driving. He sustained minor injuries.

Seau ended his career in 2009, after playing 20 years in the NFL — 13 in San Diego, three in Miami and four in New England. He was selected to 12 consecutive Pro Bowls while with the Chargers and was named first-team All-Pro six times. He amassed 545 tackles and 56.5 sacks in his NFL career.

Seau led the 1994 Chargers to their only Super Bowl appearance at Super Bowl XXIX.

Seau was a graduate of Oceanside High School. He was drafted fifth overall out of USC by the Chargers in 1990.

Source: www.nfl.com

Ahly players run for safety during a riot after a soccer match in Port Said, Egypt.

An Egyptian soccer match between two longtime rivals descended into a violent echo of the bloodiest days of last year’s revolution as hooligans supporting the winning team stormed the field, attacking opposing players and fans in clashes that reportedly killed at least 73 people.

The fighting on the pitch quickly took on broader political overtones. The Muslim Brotherhood, which controls nearly half of the new parliament, laid blame for the bloodshed on thugs connected to toppled President Hosni Mubarak who are plotting to destabilize the country.

The clashes broke out in the town of Port Said after that city’s team won a rare victory over the visiting Ahly, a powerhouse club from Cairo. Port Said supporters swarmed the field immediately after the game. Ahly players and fans ran for cover beneath the stadium and into locker rooms as chaos spread.

PHOTOS: Dozens killed in soccer riot

The locker room “looks like a morgue,” said Ahmed Nagui, an Ahly coach.

The bloodshed stunned a nation that has been enduring protests and violence since last year’s revolution overthrew Mubarak. There have been sharp animosities between the two teams — Port Said fans attacked an Ahly bus last year. But nothing suggested the level of hostilities that erupted Wednesday night, another sign of how combustible Egypt is as it unsteadily attempts to move toward democracy.

“The events in Port Said are planned and are a message from the remnants of the former regime,” Essam Erian, a member of parliament with the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, said in a statement.

Security officials feared the riot could provoke retaliation by die-hard Ahly fans, known as Ultras. The group, a mix of university students, workers and democracy advocates, helped defend Tahrir Square against Mubarak loyalists last February, and was involved in the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo in September. Its members also have been on the front lines in the recent deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and riot police and soldiers.

Ultras, a catchphrase for supporters of many clubs, have become an ingrained, if erratic, phenomenon in the antigovernment protest movement against the police and the ruling military council. Many regard themselves as protectors of civil liberties who will not hesitate to hurl stones and Molotov cocktails at police, as they did in clashes in November and December that killed scores of people.

It is uncertain how they will respond to the soccer melee. Ahly fans have announced a march on the Interior Ministry in Cairo for Thursday. The ministry, barricaded by concrete and barbed wire, is the despised touchstone of the corrupt Mubarak regime and a symbol for many activists of the revolution’s failure to force the military from power.

Smoke colored by the light of flares clung to the spectator stands in Port Said’s stadium as millions of bewildered Egyptians watched the nation’s newest wrinkle of deadly unrest unfold on television. Police appeared both overwhelmed and unwilling to respond, often watching while frantic fans raced past them. One player said the scene looked like a war.

“There are 11 deaths at my hospital. Two other hospitals include 25 deaths. Three fans have also died in the stadium,” Hassan Esnawy, the manager of Port Said’s Amiry hospital, said in a televised interview. “Some died of stampede, and others died of suffocation.”

Egyptian TV later quoted medical authorities as saying at least 73 people had been killed. Some were beaten, but the Health Ministry reported that most appeared to have died of suffocation, head trauma and stampede-related injuries. TV footage showed fans clashing with knives and other weapons. More than 1,000 people were injured.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the nation’s military ruler, dispatched military planes to Port Said to pick up Ahly players and fans and return them to Cairo. The Egyptian parliament called for an emergency session Thursday.

Indications that the situation was unusually volatile came when Port Said fans threw fireworks at Ahly players before the match. Hooligans tried unsuccessfully to rush the field during halftime, but there were no confrontations during 90 minutes of play. Moments after the game, which Port Said won 3 to 1, hooligans sprinted across the field to attack Ahly players and fans.

Two Ahly players were injured, and the team quickly blamed police for not preventing the onslaught.

“The security forces left us, they did not protect us. One fan has just died in the dressing room in front of me,” veteran Ahly player Mohamed Abou-Treika yelled while speaking on the phone to a TV channel. “To hell with football if the situation is like this…. Are people’s lives that cheap?”

Another Ahly player, Mohamed Baraket, said: “People have died, we are seeing corpses now. There are no security forces or army personnel to protect us.”

Ahly’s TV channel reported that Port Said fans blocked ambulances from reaching the field for up to 90 minutes. Those reports could not be independently confirmed. Escaping players and fans rushed toward the locker rooms, where they were trapped as police attempted to regain control.

“We need one official who can be respectable enough to come and tell us who was responsible for this,” said Nader Sayed, Ahly’s game broadcaster. “Some people want to make the image seem chaotic and blame it on the revolution, so people would hate anything related to the revolution and real change.”

He added: “We tried calling [the] minister of interior, and we were told by his office manager that he is in an emergency meeting. What can be more urgent than the lives of people?”

The bloodshed is likely to affect relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military rulers. Both sides have been negotiating on the parameters of a new constitution and the election of a president in June. Activists have accused the Brotherhood, once the nation’s most potent opposition, of becoming too cozy with the army.

But shortly after the soccer violence, Erian, the Brotherhood member of parliament, said, “This tragedy is a result of intentional reluctance by the military and the police.”

The scandal broke only days before FIFA was due to elect a new president — and one of the candidates was suspended, leaving current President Sepp Blatter unopposed in Wednesday’s vote.

Blatter will be the one holding the press conference Monday. FIFA did not announce what it would be about.

FIFA’s ethics committee cleared him of corruption allegations, while suspending Vice President Jack Warner and executive committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam, who was running against Blatter.

FIFA is the body that decides where soccer’s quadrennial World Cup will be held, among other responsibilities.

“All charges were dismissed in full” against Blatter, FIFA said Sunday. Blatter, a Swiss national, has led FIFA since 1998 and is now set to win another term, running unopposed.

A statement on FIFA’s website said the two suspensions, both effective immediately though the investigation is ongoing, “was required (because of) the gravity of the case and the likelihood that an (ethics) breach … has been committed.”

Up through Sunday morning, Bin Hammam had been set to face off against Blatter, having run on a platform of bolstering the sport’s “credibility through honesty, transparency and accountability.” But he abruptly dropped out, writing early Sunday on his blog, “I cannot allow the (game) that I love to be dragged more and more through the mud, because of competition between two individuals” — a reference to himself and Blatter.

Later Sunday, Bin Hammam blasted the ethics committee decision, which he said came after it “did not find this evidence sufficient to convict me. Consequently, I should have been given the benefit of the doubt.”

“I have been given the impression that the ethics committee is absolutely an independent committee,” the Qatari man said on his blog. “But … we have seen today, General Secretary (Jerome Valcke) made clear that he is the one who has the influence in this committee.”

Bin Hammam, 62, was a major influence in Qatar’s surprising victory in winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup finals.

But he and Warner became a target for investigation after Chuck Blazer, general secretary of regional football organization CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, reported possible misdeeds during a May 10 and 11 meeting in Trinidad.

The allegations concerned whether the duo offered cash gifts to national associations in return for pro-Bin Hammam votes in the presidential election.

Bin Hammam has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the allegations are all part of a conspiracy to discredit his bid to become FIFA president. Blatter wrote in his column for the Inside World Football website that he feels it is “ludicrous and completely reprehensible” to suggest he is behind the investigation.

While the Qatari ended his presidential bid Sunday, he did manage to get Blatter questioned at Sunday’s hearing, after claiming the FIFA president was also named in evidence handed to the ethics committee.

After the committee cleared him, the 75-year-old Blatter released a statement acknowledging the decisions.

“I do not wish to comment in detail, but simply to say that I regret what has happened in the last few days and weeks. FIFA’s image has suffered a great deal as a result,” he said.

Palin, the former governor of Alaska, let the anticipation build for hours Sunday in the Pentagon’s North Parking Lot, where thousands of bikers (and their rumbling Harleys) had gathered for the annual Rolling Thunder rally ahead of Memorial Day.

And then, suddenly, there she was: Palin, with her husband, Todd, and the rest of the family. Wearing matching black Harley-Davidson helmets, they rode motorcycles toward the front of the procession through a crush of cameramen, photographers, reporters and leather-clad bikers, all jostling for a peek at the woman who might run for president.

A traditional political appearance it was not. She did not make any public remarks or shake hands with dignitaries. There was no news release accompanying her visit. And after the short ride to the National Mall – she rode on the back of a volunteer’s bike – she sped off in a black sport utility vehicle to points unknown to anyone outside her small circle.

Unconventional

Palin’s Washington visit – to start her still-mysterious One Nation bus tour along the East Coast – provided no clarity about whether she will run for the Republican presidential nomination this year. But it did reinforce the idea that if she does, her campaign will not be conducted in the usual way.

Indeed, the appearance offered a study in contrasts between Palin and her would-be Republican rivals, who, as she rumbled through Washington clad in black leather, did the things that candidates for president usually do.

Tim Pawlenty, former governor of Minnesota, appeared on the ABC program “This Week,” dressed for the part: navy suit, pressed white shirt, light-blue tie. He said the usual things about policies and positions, praising the House Republican budget.

Obscure tour

The multistate tour Palin announced with fanfare on the website of her political action committee last week remains obscure to most. Her aides refused to say where she was going or when. Her brief statement about the tour on the site is filled only with gauzy imagery about the “patriotic sites” she will visit in the days ahead.

The first of those stops, the biker rally, was mostly friendly territory, though some in the crowd said they wondered whether she was there to support their causes or to further her own celebrity-driven political career. Many said they would welcome a presidential campaign by Palin.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Richard Oldham, 71, who had ridden his motorcycle from Battle Creek, Mich. “She’s a supporter of the armed forces. She’s a patriot.”

But others said they did not believe she would run for president, and some said they did not want her to run. Ron Kubowicz, 61, who rode from Scranton, Pa., said he would not vote for her.

“I don’t think she’s qualified,” he said. “And that’s from a gun-toting, motorcycle-riding veteran from Pennsylvania.”

The start time for the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for noon, following six hours of pre-game festivities Sunday morning. They begin with the traditional 6 a.m. explosion of a military bomb to open the track and, later, include TV actress Florence Henderson’s annual rendition of “God Bless America.”

For drivers, this year’s race includes a new rule that could increase the risk of crashes at the iconic race, according to some. Under the new rule, Drivers will have to line up in a side-by-side alignment during restarts.

This differs from the past when cars lined up single-file for restarts. The new double-file formation and could cause crashes as the bunched up cars jockey for position, some say.

“It’s going to be interesting, the new rules, the double-file restart,” former Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves told reporters last week. “There’s a lot of things happening that can change the dynamic of this race from the past. So it will certainly be interesting to see.”

The first Indy 500 winner, Ray Harroun, claimed the checkered flag on May 30, 1911, in a car that averaged just under 75 miles per hour. Today’s cars can hit speeds more than three times as fast.

Mohammad bin Hammam announced his decision on his blog, seemingly clearing the way for the 75-year-old Blatter to retain the position he’s held as head of world football’s governing body since 1998. The election is set for June 1.

“I set out my goals and ambitions clearly to further the cause of democracy within FIFA through a commitment to transparency and accountability,” said bin Hammam, the head of the Asian Football Confederation. “In addition to this, I wanted to spark a debate about change in FIFA.

“However, recent events have left me hurt and disappointed — on a professional and personal level,” he added. “I cannot allow the (game) that I loved to be dragged more and more through the mud, because of competition between two individuals.”

The Qatari man and Jack Warner, who runs the CONCACAF federation covering Central and North America, are scheduled to be questioned later Sunday by FIFA’s ethics committee in Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA executive committee member Chuck Blazer has accused both of bribery related to a meeting they held with the Caribbean Football Union on May 10 and 11.

Bin Hammam has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the allegations are all part of a conspiracy to discredit his bid to become FIFA president. Blatter, a Swiss national, wrote in his column for Inside World Football that he feels it is “ludicrous and completely reprehensible” to suggest he is behind the investigation.

Last Thursday, bin Hammam demanded that Blatter also be included in the probe, after claiming the FIFA president was also named in evidence handed to the ethics committee. FIFA confirmed on Friday that Blatter had a case to answer and would take questions at Sunday’s ethics committee hearing.

In a statement, the sports association said bin Hammam claimed that Warner, a FIFA vice president, would have told Blatter in advance about alleged cash payments to delegations attending the Caribbean Football Union meeting, and that he “would have had no issue with these.”

Again asserting his innocence, bin Hammam said Sunday he hoped his decision to pull out of the presidential race would not be tied to the probe.

“I will appear before the ethics committee to clear my name from the baseless allegations that have been made against me,” he wrote, while also singling out Warner for thanks. “I promise those who stood by me that I will walk with my head high, and will continue to fight for the good of the game.”

The Qatari man vowed to also fight “to restore FIFA’s reputation to what it should be — a protector of the game that has credibility through honesty, transparency and accountability.” And he said he believed his presidential run helped further that cause.

“I believe my candidacy has been a catalyst for debate within FIFA and has brought change to the top of the agenda,” bin Hammam said.

Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Barcelona as the “the best team in Europe” and admitted that his team had been outclassed by a rampant Barça. “They do mesmerise you with the way they pass it,” Ferguson said . “I expected us to do better, particularly after half-time, but it wasn’t to be. Great teams do go in cycles and they’re at the peak of the cycle they’re in at the moment …  In my time as a manager, I would say they’re the best team we’ve faced. Everyone acknowledges that and I accept that. It’s not easy when you’ve been well beaten like that to think another way. No one has given us a hiding like that. It’s a great moment for them. They deserve it because they play the right way and enjoy their football “.

Club sources didn’t explicitly divulge Posey’s condition, which won’t become fully known until he undergoes a MRI. But multiple insiders did speak of Posey’s ankle with an absence of hope. Initially, the Giants had feared that Posey had sustained either a fracture or torn ligaments.

Posey, 24, was hurt during Wednesday night’s 12th inning as he absorbed a home-plate collision with Florida’s Scott Cousins, who scored the tiebreaking run in the Marlins’ 7-6 victory.

In an attempt to compensate for the loss of Posey’s bat, the Giants have recalled first baseman/outfielder Brandon Belt from Triple-A Fresno. They also have purchased the contracts of infielder Brandon Crawford from Class A San Jose and catcher Chris Stewart from Triple-A Fresno while placing infielder Mike Fontenot (groin) and outfielder Darren Ford (ankle) on the 15-day disabled list.

The Giants must confront the reality of trying to remain in first place in the NL West and defend their World Series triumph without their most important player. Posey not only steered San Francisco’s pitching staff while playing nearly every day but also occupied the cleanup spot in an offensively challenged batting order. Though the Giants ranked last in the NL in scoring entering Wednesday, Posey had begun to find his form, lengthening his hitting streak to 13 games three innings before he was hurt.

Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, himself sidelined for at least two more weeks as he recovers from surgery to remove a fractured hamate bone in his right hand, sent a message on his Twitter account that lacked punctuation but was laden with emotion: “Good morning I feel so bad because we lost buster for rest of the season it’s gonna be hard without him”.

Eli Whiteside, Posey’s backup, will become the No. 1 catcher. The Giants are expected to purchase the contract of Major League veteran Chris Stewart from Triple-A Fresno to add catching depth.

The 2011 NBA Mock Draft season is upon us and SB Nation D.C. is breaking down possible targets for the Wizards. Next up: Bismack Biyombo, PF/C, Congo.

Bismack Biyombo might be the most intriguing player in the entire draft. He burst onto the scene at the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, Oregon, where he wowed scouts with his athleticism and “upside.” (Ed. note: We’re going to start hearing that word a lot with regards to the Wizards selection, so let’s get familiar now.)

The mid-to-late lottery seems to be the right place for Biyombo, and so he could come into play even though the Wizards have a defensive, shot-blocking center (ideally) in JaVale McGee and could probably stand for more of a post-scoring threat as a compliment. SB Nation’s Tom Ziller recently mulled over the idea of Biyombo at Sactown Royalty:

Biyombo is both inspired and exciting … to me, at least. Some may fear his lack of institutional notoriety and lack of domestic experience. I can already hear the Hasheem Thabeet and Mouhamed Sene catcalls. But I also hear the Serge Ibaka retorts, and I understand that Biyombo has been a defensive stud in the Spanish league (No. 2 in the world behind the NBA)

The Wizards late-season mini-run of success (fool’s gold or not) was built on a foundation of hard-working guys from the D-League. Junk yard dogs, coach Flip Saunders called them. Getting a big who is committed to defending and rebounding would help facilitate that culture.

Things got bizarre after a man claiming to be the biological father of the late Olympic gold medalist Samuel Wanjiru emerged to narrate the story of his deceased son, whom he claimed was kept away from him since his rise to stardom in athletics.

Peter Kimani Kirihinya, 65, further said he would like to bury the famed marathoner, next to the grave of his younger son.

However, Kirihinya — or Kimani wa Nelly — as he is commonly known at his Ihiga village in Kiambaa constituency, said he would not contest any decision that would be made, especially by his estranged wife, Hannah Wanjiru, on the athlete’s final resting place.

“I will want to bury my son next to where I buried his younger brother Njenga. But I would not want to place any objection to where his mother feels the body should be buried. The boy is no more and there is no need squabbling over who or where he is buried, but granted I would want to take the responsibility,” said Kirihinya.

Stopped associating

Kirihinya, however, says after his son moved to Japan and started his winning streak, he stopped associating with his father, and that he never saw his son since the day he left his home.

“It would appear that after he became successful and got the money some people created a wedge and possibly misadvised him against associating with us. He chose his maternal grandparents’ family,” he said.

Asked if he has ever enjoyed the generosity of his son, Kirihinya quipped: “Would I be looking tattered as I do if he were supporting me? He has never given me any money, but I would not hold it against him. It was his money and how he spent it was to his discretion”.

New twist

A new twist in Wanjiru’s death emerged after his mother claimed her son may have been murdered.

Hannah Wanjiru alleged her son was killed in his bedroom before his body was dropped from the balcony to conceal evidence, dismissing the version given by his widow, Triza Njeri that he fell and injured himself after jumping from the balcony in a drunken stupor.

But in an interview with The Standard Tuesday, Njeri revealed she was at their Muthaiga residence in Nyahururu that fateful day waiting for her husband, and only left some time after 5pm for supper at a friend’s house. She went to the friend’s house after Wanjiru, whom she was expecting from Nakuru, called and said he would be late.

She said her husband was to pick her up from the friend’s house, but when he failed to do so by 10pm, she called their driver who dropped her home, not knowing her husband had arrived.

Njeri said she took some medicine and then went to the bedroom, only to find Wanjiru in their bed with a woman who claimed to be the athlete’s wife. They quarreled and Njeri opted to take the bedroom keys and lock them in before hurrying out to call the police.

Police had also given contradictory accounts of the death, after earlier claiming Wanjiru might have committed suicide.

“I wonder why the police and the widow are giving false statements concerning my son’s death. I believe that my son did not commit suicide nor did he fall accidentally. He was killed,” Wanjiru’s mother, Hannah, claimed.

Blood stains

Hannah Wanjiru alleged at a press conference at her house that there were bloodstains in her son’s Muthaiga bedroom, indicating he was killed there and his body dumped on the floor.

“Why did they wash the bloodstains in his bedroom if the killing was not done there? Where was the blood from?” she posed.

She claimed that a blunt object might have been used to hit him at the back of his head where he had injuries.

Hannah wondered how the night guard did not see Wanjiru entering the compound in the company of a woman, Jane Nduta as it was reported.

She claimed that it was Njeri who had called for an urgent meeting with Wanjiru, who was then training in Eldoret.

She said the call prompted her son to travel late in the night to meet his wife who was in the house.

“My son called me on Sunday during the day and informed me that he was due to travel and meet Njeri at the house. How come then that he met his death at a time the wife called for such a meeting?” she asked.

On which of the three women was recognised by her family, Hannah said it was Mary Wacera who had legally been married by the athlete as he had even paid her dowry.

Introducing her to the Press, she said it was Wacera who had been taking care of her and she was the one every family member knew.

“As a family, we know of Wacera who has been taking care of me all the time. Njeri was just a girlfriend,” she noted.

On Monday, another woman in Nakuru, Judy Wambui claimed she was carrying Wanjiru’s five-month pregnancy and that they had been friends for five years.

Speaking while standing next to Wanjiru’s mother, Wacera who has a nine-month old baby said that they had lived with the athlete since 2009.

Wacera a policewoman, said they have lived together as husband and wife and he had even paid her dowry.

Wanjiru’s property

She now wants Wanjiru’s property allocated to her so that she can bring up the child, Ann Wanjiru.

Hannah Wanjiru claimed that the death was “as a result of his family problems and people who want a share in his property”.

She dismissed claims Wanjiru was found with another woman in his Muthaiga home. She said police should conduct further investigations by thoroughly questioning the wife, Triza Njeri.

Her account contradicted earlier reports that the athletics champion fell accidentally from the balcony of his Muthaiga residence while pursuing his wife after an argument.

It had been alleged by police that Njeri caught the two in their bedroom at around 12.30am on Sunday night.

But the mother denied the claims alleging they were lies.

Wacera’s claim to be Wanjiru’s second wife came a day after Njeri claimed her husband was married to two other women.

Speaking to The Standard yesterday morning, she said that she did not know of any other woman and demanded that all Wanjiru’s wealth be left in her care.

The widow came out fighting against claims by two women that they were his wives. Njeri said she was Wanjiru’s legal wife, and he never informed her of plans to marry other women.

She said the claims were meant to discredit and shame her late husband and claim his property. She said a member of Wanjiru’s family has in the past been fueling quarrels in her family and was behind the claims.

“Kamau never told me of any other marriage apart from my legal one and the claims by the two are just meant to discredit his name. I know who has been fueling all these claims since she does not want me here,” she told said.