Ketlin Izabel Becker (28) found dead in Zagreb hotel room

Ketlin Izabel Becker, 28, a Brazilian national, was found dead inside a hotel room in Zagreb on August 22, authorities say. The case has shaken parts of the Brazilian community and prompted an investigation by the Zagreb police and the competent prosecutor's office.

Becker left Brazil at the end of April intending to work in Serbia to raise money for treatment for her ill father. Her family says that when she arrived in Serbia she was told the position had already been filled. They allege that afterwards unknown persons took her to Croatia.

Relatives also report that Becker received threats from unidentified individuals before her death and have asked investigators to examine the possibility of human trafficking. According to family accounts, she had travelled to Europe with another Brazilian woman who had been offered the same job; after the fatal discovery there is no trace of that second woman.

Investigations and medical examinations

The Zagreb police have said so far they have not identified elements of a criminal offence and that the death does not appear to be the result of violence, but the inquiry remains open while additional toxicology tests are completed.

Becker's family learned via the Brazilian embassy in Zagreb on August 27 that her body had been found five days earlier. The death certificate lists the cause of death as undetermined. Her remains were later repatriated to Brazil, where an additional autopsy was performed; because days had passed and the body had been embalmed, Brazilian forensic specialists took biological samples for further testing to try to clarify the cause of death.

Investigators continue to await toxicology results and are pursuing leads about how Becker travelled from Serbia to Croatia and who she was in contact with upon arriving in Europe.

Photo: press material from the event