Nairobi, Feb 11 (IANS): An inquest into the controversial death of 2008 Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru has revealed that the athlete was possibly murdered and did not commit suicide as the police had claimed in the aftermath of his shocking death May 15, 2011.

Former government chief pathologist Moses Njue told the Nairobi chief magistrate Wednesday that it was not possible for the deceased to have fallen from his 14-feet high balcony at home and sustain the head injury from which he died, reports Xinhua.

While giving the post-mortem report, the doctor explained that Wanjiru was hit by a blunt object on the head before he died.

"Given the height of the deceased and where he fell from was not enough to generate momentum to kill him," the former state pathologist told the court.

He added that injuries sustained by Wanjiru on his knees and palms could only mean that he could not have sustained the intense head injuries.

"I am convinced that the deceased was hit by another person after he fell on the ground," he testified.

The government ordered an inquiry into Wanjiru's death after three different post-mortems conducted after his death came up with different results.

Dismissing the suicide theory, Njue said the height associated with deaths from a fall is 30 feet or more and Wanjiru's death could have occurred from approximately a distance of 18 feet.

The state has lined up about 30 witnesses to shed light on circumstances that led to Wanjiru's death with his mother, Hannah Wanjiru, and spouse Trizah Njeri among those who will take the stand at the inquest that has been delayed by a three-year tussle over its venue.

Hannah moved the court to press for an investigation into the death of her son, insisting that he was killed. The court started hearing evidence February last year after she and his in-laws bickered over a suitable venue for the inquest.

The late marathon star became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon gold medal in the Beijing Games.