Brazilian
investigators have identified several suspects in the strangling
murder of Italian citizen Pamela Canzonieri, police spokesperson
Alberto Maraux told ANSA on Wednesday.
He declined to release further details so as not to hamper
the ongoing investigation.
Canzonieri, 39, was found dead last Thursday in her home in
the seaside village of Morro de Sao Paolo on Tinharé island
after police received an anonymous tip.
She had been strangled manually and there were no signs of a
break-in, investigators said.
The native of the Sicilian city of Ragusa had spent the last
five southern hemisphere summers on the tourist-haven island,
where she rented a house and supported herself by waitressing.
The victim's remains are expected to be flown back to Italy
on Friday.
Ragusa prosecutors have launched a murder probe in the case,
allowing Italian investigators to conduct their own inquiry.
Also on Wednesday, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni
commented on claims by the victim's family that they felt
authorities had abandoned them.
"We've been working with Brazilian authorities, and top
foreign office diplomats have been in constant contact with the
(victim's) family in Ragusa," Gentiloni told reporters.
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