Spanish cold case victim identified after 20 years through interpol campaign
More than two decades after her body was discovered in northeastern Spain, authorities have identified the woman once known only as “the woman in pink.”
Interpol confirmed on Thursday that the victim was 31-year-old Russian citizen Liudmila Zavada, whose remains were found in July 2005 beside a road in Barcelona province. She had been dressed entirely in pink clothing, which led investigators to give her the nickname, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
Spanish police considered her death suspicious, noting evidence that her body had been moved shortly before it was discovered. However, despite extensive efforts, her identity remained a mystery for nearly 20 years.
The breakthrough came after the case was included in Operation Identify Me, an international initiative launched in 2023 to help name unidentified women in Europe who were murdered or died under suspicious circumstances. Interpol shared fingerprints and other forensic details with global law enforcement. Earlier this year, Turkish police matched Zavada’s fingerprints to their national database, and a DNA test later confirmed the identification through a relative in Russia.
“After 20 years, an unknown woman has been given back her name,” said Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza, calling the development both a source of hope for families of missing persons and a valuable lead for investigators.
Zavada is the third woman identified through the campaign, following the identification of Rita Roberts, a Welsh woman murdered in Belgium in 1992, and Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, a Paraguayan national found dead in Spain under unexplained circumstances.
Police are still working to identify another 44 women across Europe, most believed to be young murder victims. Interpol says rising migration and human trafficking have made such cases harder to solve, with women disproportionately affected by violence, including trafficking, domestic abuse, and sexual assault.
Investigations into Zavada’s death remain open.
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