Liudmila Zavada, A Case In Point...UPDATED

 Could this be part of the reason for the delay in the Somerton Man inquest?

Liudmila Zavada Identified After 20 Years: Interpol’s “Woman in Pink” Case Solved

After nearly two decades, the identity of a woman found dead near Barcelona has been confirmed through international police cooperation. On 3 July 2005, the body of Liudmila Zavada, a 31-year-old Russian citizen, was discovered in Viladecans, Spain. She was dressed entirely in pink—leading Interpol to designate the case as “The Woman in Pink.”

At the time, Spanish authorities suspected foul play, noting that her body had likely been moved within 12 hours of its discovery. Despite extensive efforts, her identity remained unknown until 2023, when the case was submitted to Interpol’s Identify Me campaign—a global initiative aimed at solving cold cases involving unidentified women across Europe.

A breakthrough came when biometric data shared through the campaign matched fingerprints in Turkey’s national database. DNA testing with a close relative confirmed Zavada’s identity.

Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza stated:

“After 20 years, an unknown woman has been given back her name… Through global cooperation, we’re helping more families find the answers they’ve been waiting for.”

Zavada’s case marks the third success for the Identify Me campaign, following the identifications of Rita Roberts, a British woman murdered in Belgium in 1992, and Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, a Paraguayan woman found in Spain in 2018.

You can read the full article and learn more about the campaign:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/25/europe/interpol-liudmila-zavada-cold-case-scli-intl

UPDATE

What's really interesting about this case is that Ludmila was a Russian citizen. She is actually one of 40 women found dead across Europe in recent decades. I don't know how many were Russian.