Suitcase woman 'died of malnutrition' (2)

(ANSA) - Rimini, March 27 - An Asian woman whose body was found in a suitcase fished out of Rimini harbour at the weekend probably died of malnutrition, sources said after an autopsy Monday. "She looked as if she'd come out of a labour camp," they said. The autopsy found there had been no "external causes" of the death and ruled out asphyxiation or drowning. It is therefore likely she was nearly dead when she was put into the suitcase, sources said. It is now certain, police said, that the body is not that of Xing Lei Li, a 36-year-old Chinese woman who went missing earlier this month while on a cruise with her Irish husband. As well as their heights not matching - the Rimini woman was 1.7 metres tall, more than 20 cm taller than Xing - there is the fact that the cruise ship stopped in places more than 1,000 km from Rimini, and the fact that the woman in the suitcase suffered "long" physical suffering, police said.
    Police said they were "examining all avenues".