Camilla Jessen
This is what we know about Liudmila Zavada.
Nearly two decades after her body was found on a roadside in Spain, the mystery of the so-called “woman in pink” has been solved.
She has been identified as Russian national Liudmila Zavada, thanks to Interpol’s Identify Me campaign, which is working to restore names and stories to women who died under suspicious circumstances in Europe.
A Long-Running Mystery
In July 2005, Spanish police discovered the body of a young woman near a roadside in Barcelona province.
She wore a pink floral top, pink trousers, and pink shoes, which led investigators to call her “the woman in pink.”
Clues Pointed to a Suspicious Death
From the outset, investigators considered the case unusual.
Forensic evidence suggested her body had been moved in the 12 hours prior to discovery, raising questions about where she died and who was involved.
Unsolved for Nearly Two Decades
Despite local and national inquiries, the victim’s identity remained elusive for almost 20 years.
Without a name, progress on the investigation into how and why she died was stalled.
Interpol Launches ‘Identify Me’
In 2023, Interpol introduced Identify Me, a cross-border initiative focused on matching unidentified female victims with missing persons reports.
It marked the first time the agency issued “black notices” for this purpose.
A Breakthrough
A major breakthrough came when Turkish police ran the woman’s fingerprints through their national system earlier this year.
The match pointed to a Russian national named Liudmila Zavada, who was 31 when she died.
Fingerprint Identification
To ensure certainty, investigators compared the woman’s DNA to that of a close relative in Russia.
The results confirmed that the “woman in pink” was indeed Zavada, finally giving her a name and identity.
Identification Brings Hope to Families
Valdecy Urquiza, Interpol’s secretary general, welcomed the development, saying:
“After 20 years, an unknown woman’s name has been restored.” He stressed that such identifications bring hope to families of the missing and help advance stalled investigations.
Third Woman Identified Through the Campaign
Liudmila Zavada’s identification follows two earlier successes in the campaign.
Welsh woman Rita Roberts, murdered in Belgium in 1992, and Paraguayan national Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, whose body was discovered in Spain under unexplained circumstances.
Dozens of Unidentified Women
Interpol says that 44 other women remain unidentified across Europe, many thought to be victims of murder, human trafficking, or gender-based violence.
Most were between the ages of 15 and 30.
Death Remain Unanswered
While Zavada’s identity is now known, the circumstances of her death are not. Investigators in Spain continue to search for answers about what happened to her in the final hours of her life and why her body was abandoned near a road.
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, which may have used AI in the preparation
