A significant breakthrough has been made in a Spanish cold case, with an international police initiative successfully identifying a woman whose body was discovered over 20 years ago. Named on Thursday, the woman has been confirmed as 31-year-old Russian national Liudmila Zavada.
This identification marks the third success for Interpol’s “Operation Identify Me” campaign, a crucial effort launched in 2023. The initiative aims to provide names for women found deceased under suspicious or unexplained circumstances across Europe, offering a glimmer of hope to families and investigators alike.
Valdecy Urquiza, Interpol’s Secretary General, highlighted the campaign’s impact, stating that this latest identification offers “fresh hope to the families and friends of missing persons” and provides “new leads” for ongoing investigations. He added, “After 20 years, an unknown woman has been given back her name.”
Liudmila Zavada’s body was discovered in July 2005 near a road in the Barcelona province of northeastern Spain. Due to her attire – a pink floral top, pink trousers, and pink shoes – she became known to police as “the woman in pink.” The initial investigation suggested suspicious circumstances, with evidence indicating her body may have been moved within 12 hours of discovery. However, her identity remained elusive for years.
The case was added to the Operation Identify Me initiative last year. This campaign uniquely involves releasing Interpol “black notices” to the public, a first for unidentified bodies, and sharing vital records like fingerprints globally to aid identification efforts.
The breakthrough came earlier this year when Turkish police, utilizing a national database, identified Liudmila Zavada through her fingerprints. A subsequent DNA match with a close relative in Russia confirmed her identity.
The investigation into Ms Zavada’s death and the surrounding circumstances is ongoing. This case follows the identification of Rita Roberts, a 31-year-old woman from Wales murdered in Belgium in 1992, whose family had long searched for answers. Another recent success involved the identification of Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, a 33-year-old from Paraguay, whose death in Spain was previously described as “unexplained.”
Interpol acknowledges that increased global migration and human trafficking present challenges in identifying missing persons and bodies. The agency notes that women are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, making such identification efforts particularly vital.