Interpol Identifies Russian Woman in 20-Year Spanish Cold Case

Interpol's Identify Me campaign has successfully identified a woman known as "The Woman in Pink," whose body was found near Barcelona, Spain, in 2005. The victim, Liudmila Zavada, a 31-year-old Russian national at the time of her death, was discovered wearing pink clothing, and evidence suggested her body had been moved shortly before discovery, indicating suspicious circumstances. Despite initial investigative challenges, the case was reopened under the 2023 Identify Me initiative, which shares biometric data globally to solve cold cases involving unidentified women across several European countries. A fingerprint match was made in Turkey's national biometric database and confirmed through DNA analysis with a close relative, providing closure after two decades. This identification marks the third success of the campaign, following the cases of Rita Roberts and Ainhoa Izaga Ibieta Lima. The campaign continues to work on 44 other unresolved cases, highlighting ongoing concerns about violence against women, migration, and human trafficking in Europe.