A manhunt has been launched for the killer of a fashion blogger found buried in a shallow grave in the garden of her suburban home.
The body of Laureline Garcia-Bertaux, 34, was found yesterday morning behind the £500,000 Victorian terrace in a leafy street in Kew.
She had been reported missing by her employer Golin PR agency on Monday after failing to arrive for work.
The French national, who moved to the UK a decade ago to study at Central St Martins College, lived alone in the rented garden flat in Darell Road with her two dogs after she became single last year.
Detectives are understood to be investigating her love life after friends said she was active on dating apps including Tinder.
In the past year Ms Garcia-Bertaux had hinted at difficulties, writing on Facebook in December: “I can clearly say that despite how bad this year has been I’ve never felt closer to my friends and family!”
The last recorded sighting was outside a nearby Sainsbury’s supermarket on Saturday night. A neighbour today told the Standard she spotted her speaking to a middle-aged man in the garden 12 hours later.
She said: “I didn’t take much notice at the time. I think she was moving out of the flat because all last week there was furniture being taken out.
“It looked like a normal conversation and she had her arms folded across her chest. Police said I might have been the last person to see her alive.”
Neighbour Paul Watkins, 63, said he saw her walking her dogs in a park near her home.
He said: “She was usually on her own and we would stop and chat, mostly about the dogs
Ms Garcia-Bertaux, whose rottweiler and husky dogs were found in the flat, had worked at the Discovery Channel and ran a creative video production firm called Black Balloons Studios.
Colleague Claudio Ravenelli, 33, said: “Laureline had a lot of humour, she was a very fun person and liked to go out to party with friends. I’m just in total shock, I didn’t even know she was missing.”
She also worked on the short film Gerry starring Joan Collins, who said: “I am shocked by the horrifying news of the murder of Laureline. She was passionate about film and was instrumental in bringing together my latest short film.
“I enjoyed our collaboration and I thought she had a great future.”
Ms Bertaux-Garcia, who was born in Provence and grew up in Corsica, had been living in a one-bedroom flat in the converted property for the last 18 months.
Hester Ruoff, who produced the short, said: “She was a ball of energy and was a passionate French woman.
“I don’t know what the hell went wrong. I’m so devastated for her mum and her sister. She was so close to them.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Detectives are pursuing a number of active enquiries.”
