Tune, others affected by Ethiopian murder-suicide

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Most of Monday, Sept. 29 was a normal day in the lives of a group of Ethiopian marathon runners coached by Hadji Adilo.

"We did a session in the morning and the athletes trained privately in the afternoon," recalled the marathon-runner-cum-coach during a telephone interview late last week. "Many of the runners in the group were preparing for marathons throughout the world. Everything was fine and peaceful. Everyone was concentrated and we had a nice day."

After another session in the afternoon, many of the athletes went home to rest and recover from a hard day of training. Their lives were then dramatically altered after they discovered some tragic news at about 9 p.m.

The parents and sister of one of the group's top runners, Leila Aman, who were also the mother and father in law to 2008 Boston Marathon and Houston Marathon champion Dire Tune, were shot and killed by Aman's brother in-law. The incident has forced some of the runners to stop training during a period of mourning.

The runners are also thinking about canceling competitive plans this fall. Tune is considering the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.

"I still cannot believe what happened," said Adilo, who received a phone call about the shooting from fellow coach and agent Gemedu Dedefo, the husband of Ethiopian elite marathon runner Leila Aman (2:27.18 in the 2004 Berlin Marathon).

"When Hadji called to tell me, I thought he was not serious," says Kassim Adilo, a brother to Hadji Adilo and a direct cousin of Leila Aman and a top class marathon runner himself with a personal best of 2:10.20. "I remember Leila telling us that he had often threatened her, but I never thought it would come down to this."

Because Adilo's family and running group based in Addis Ababa consists of more than 20 people, it took about an hour for all members of the family to hear about the incident and prepare to leave for Assela.

"We received another call telling us that the mother passed away and we were really disturbed," says Kassim Adilo. Starting their journey from the home of Leila Aman, the group headed to Assela and got the second phone call just before they reached the city at 11 p.m. that the sister had also passed away. By the time they got to the murder scene at around midnight, they heard that Aman's father had died and that the brother-in-law had killed himself as well.

"You do not know how to deal with such kind of situations," said Hadji Adilo. "I have never heard anything happening like this ever in Ethiopia and I do not think it matters how strong you are. Everyone has been affected by this."

The group received more bad news when they arrived in Assela. "I was hoping that the children had not seen what happened," says Kassim Adilo. "But when we got back home [to the murder scene], the youngest child said to us "Baba [Daddy] came with a gun and boom, boom, boom he shot Mama [mother], Ababa [grandfather] and Emama [grandmother]. I fear for the kids. This is an experience that will stay with them forever."

Police have not responded to repeated phone requests for comment.

The tragedy has rocked what is considered one of Ethiopia's largest running dynasties. The central figure of this dynasty is Hadji Adilo, a former member of the Ethiopian National Team in the marathon before retiring in 2004 to take up coaching.

Hadji Adilo convinced many of his siblings to take up the sport seriously, including brothers Kassim and Hussein, sister Radiya, and cousin Kelil and Leila Aman. Many members of the dynasty have married runners. Kassim Adilo married Houston Marathon champion Teyiba Erkesso (2:24.18); Hadji's wife is African 3000m steeplechase champion Zemzem Ahmed; and Kelil Aman is the husband of Tune.

"We have a large family and everyone is either a professional runner or wants to become one," says Kassim. Hadji and Kassim have seven brothers and sisters, while the Aman family has 16 children.

The tragedy has affected many of the runners who are torn between grief and their sport. "Everyone has been deeply affected by this," says Hadji. "We live as one big family and it is difficult to concentrate on running when you face this kind of problem."

Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie even stopped by to pay his respects. "I happened to be in Assela and was really shocked when I heard about it," he said. "This is something that is very difficult to forget."

As Muslims, the runners have to respect the by-laws of their religion and must stay at the home of their father and mourn for at least seven days. "It is difficult because Leila and her brothers and sisters have to cry whenever a family member, friend, or a neighbor comes to their home," says Hadji. "Every close family member has to scream and cry when they enter the house and we have to return their grief by crying and screaming along with them to show our grief. It is a difficult period."

During the mourning period many of the runners in the group have stopped training. As a result, Leila Aman (Prague Marathon), and a few others have joined Tune in contemplating holdilng off races they planned to run in this fall, Hadji Adilo said.

Erkesso, however, still plans to compete in the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11. "It is a sad thing that has happened to the family," she says. "I asked Leila and Dire about this and they told me to go ahead. Sometimes when there is a lot of pain in your heart, focusing on work will help you recover. But I know that I will never forget this for the rest of my life."