A 28-year-old Russian woman, who had been missing since late July, has been found dead inside a suitcase in a canal near Belgrade, Serbia. The victim's body was discovered on Thursday evening by residents of the area near the canal in Padinska Skela, a sparsely populated area on the other side of the Danube River, far from the center of the Serbian capital.

After forensic examinations, the victim was identified as Lyudmila Turkova, the Russian national who authorities had been searching for after she was reported missing. According to the Serbian Interior Ministry, a 25-year-old Turkish national has been arrested as the main suspect in the murder. He was stopped at Belgrade airport while allegedly trying to leave the country.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the woman was allegedly murdered in the early hours of July 26, in a rented apartment in the Borca neighborhood of Belgrade. The suspect then allegedly placed the body in a suitcase, transported it to the Vizelj Canal and abandoned it there, in an attempt to hide the traces of the crime.

Lyudmila Turkova disappeared on the evening of July 25, after she stopped communicating with her friends and stopped responding to messages. After reporting her missing, Serbian authorities launched an investigation that led to the discovery of her body and the arrest of the suspect. The case has now been transferred to the Serbian prosecutor's office, which is continuing its investigation to fully clarify the circumstances and motive for the murder.