A filmmaker whose body was found buried in a shallow grave in Kew, west London, was strangled, police have revealed.
Laureline Garcia-Bertaux’s body was discovered in her own garden in the area’s Darell Road on Wednesday after being reported missing on Monday.
A post-mortem examination carried out on Saturday gave the cause of death as “consistent with compression of the neck”.
A murder investigation remains ongoing, and a forensic crime scene remained in place on Sunday at the victim’s home, near the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Ms Garcia-Bertaux, a French national who had been living in the UK for many years, was reported missing after failing to turn up for work at public relations firm Golin.
Detectives with the Metropolitan Police say the 34-year-old was last seen on Saturday 2 March at a supermarket in the Manor Circus area of Richmond – but they want to hear from anyone who may have spoken to her between then and when her body was discovered four days later.
“This may have been via phone calls, texts messages, WhatsApp or any other social media platform,” said Detective Chief Inspector Simon Harding. “Laureline was known to local people as she walked her two dogs each day.”
A friend, Daniel Hughes, has previously said she was due to meet an unknown man for coffee last weekend.
Mr Hughes added in tribute: “She’s tall, got a lot of presence. Always very friendly, very talkative, would never have hurt anyone.”
On her own Linkedin profile, Miss Garcia-Bertaux described herself as “an experienced creative marketer with a demonstrated history of successfully working in the clothing, TV and film industries”.
She had previously had worked with Dame Joan Collins on the 2018 short film Gerry, with the actress saying she was “shocked by the horrifying news”.
Anyone with information about the investigation can call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
