Body of Russian woman found in suitcase in Padinska Skela; she was reported missing on July 25
Her last message was sent at around 23:15 and investigators say a suspect has been arrested in connection with the case.
The body of a woman was found inside a suitcase dumped in a canal in Padinska Skela, Belgrade; authorities identified her as Russian national Lyudmila Turkova Konstantinovna, who had been reported missing on July 25.
Friends and family say Turkova was preparing to go to a nightclub the evening she disappeared. Her last message was sent at around 23:15, after which she stopped answering calls and ceased activity on social networks, prompting growing alarm among her relatives.
Her relatives immediately began searching for her, but the formal missing-person report faced delays because the notice the mother filed in Russia needed to be forwarded through Interpol before Serbian authorities could process it.
Discovery and forensic procedure
The suitcase was discovered last night in a canal in the Padinska Skela neighbourhood. Police teams who arrived at the scene conducted an on-site inspection and launched a wider investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
The body was handed over for autopsy, which must determine the exact time and cause of death and whether the death was the result of violence.
The Criminal Police Directorate subsequently announced that it has cleared the case and arrested a suspect. Officials say the detainee is a Turkish national suspected of killing the Russian citizen and disposing of her body in the canal.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities work to establish all relevant facts and the motive for the killing.
Photo: press material from the event
