NAIROBI, Feb. 11 -- An inquest into the controversial death of Beijing Olympics marathon champion, Samuel Wanjiru, heard the distance running star was possibly murdered and did not commit suicide as police claimed in the aftermath of his shocking May 15, 2011 demise.

Former government chief pathologist Moses Njue told Nairobi Chief Magistrate Hannah Ndungu on Wednesday that it was not possible for the deceased to have fallen from his 14 feet balcony in Nyahururu home in central Kenya and sustain the serious head injuries he later succumbed to at a nearby hospital.

While tabling a post-mortem report, the doctor explained to the inquest 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, adding injuries sustained by Wanjiru on his knees and palms could only mean that he fell like a cat and could not have sustained the intense head injuries.

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

The government ordered an inquest to Wanjiru's death after three different post-mortems conducted following his death on the night of May 15, 2011 came up with different results.

Dismissing the suicide theory, Njue said the height associated with death is 30 feet or more and in Wanjiru's case, the doctor explained that his death could have occurred from at least an 18 feet fall.

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

Wanjiru moved to court to press for investigations into the death of her son insisting he was killed and the court started hearing evidence last February after she and her in-law bickered over a suitable venue of the inquest.

The late marathon star who also won two Chicago and one London marathon title in his short but glittering career became the first Kenyan to win the Olympics gold medal at the ultimate distance when he raced an event record of 2:06:32.