The prime suspect in the murder of Kew fashion blogger Laureline Garcia-Bertaux was formally charged with her murder at a west London police station on Wednesday.
The Metropolitan Extradition Unit travelled to Tallinn, Estonia where murder suspect Kirill Belorusov, 32, was arrested on Wednesday 13 March, and held at a police station.
Police then escorted Belorusov back to the UK, where he was formally charged with Ms Garcia-Bertaux’s murder.
The police worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to issue a European Arrest Warrant for Belorusov, and received assistance from Eurojust in the Hague, and colleagues from Europol in order to trace him and return him to the UK.
He was due to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates Court yesterday morning.
Estonian national Belorusov was living in London at the time of the murder.
French national Ms Garcia-Bertaux was found strangled to death in a shallow grave dug in the garden of her home on Darell Road, Kew, on Wednesday 6 March.
A post-mortem was carried out on 9 March at Uxbridge Mortuary and concluded that cause of death was consistent with compression of the neck.
She was reported missing by worried colleagues after she failed to turn up to work at public relations firm Golin on Tuesday 5 March.
Ms Garcia-Bertaux’s family have been informed, and are being supported by specially trained officers.
With information call 101 or contact via Twitter @MetCC. Quote CAD 4439/05MAR, or contact the investigation team on 020 8721 4205 quoting Operation Ramah. To give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.
