Autopsy: U.S. woman strangled in Belize
BELIZE CITY, Belize – An autopsy on the body of a U.S. tourist found dead in western Belize has determined that she was strangled.
Anne Swaney, 39, died from “asphyxia due to compression of the neck area, throttling and blunt force traumatic injuries to the head and neck,” according to the post-mortem report prepared by Dr. Leyden Ken on Friday night.
Swaney worked for ABC-Channel 7 in Chicago. Her body was discovered Friday morning floating face-down in the Mopan River, which flows into Belize from Guatemala.
Police in the border town of Benque Viejo del Carmen were questioning an unidentified Guatemalan national who was fishing in the area but denied any involvement in her death.
African to stay jailed in American’s slaying
ROME – An Italian judge on Saturday upheld the arrest of a Senegalese man jailed in the slaying of an American woman, the suspect’s lawyer said.
The judge questioned Cheik Tidiane Diaw, suspected of killing Ashley Olsen, at a closed-door hearing earlier in Florence to determine if he should stay in jail. The lawyer, Antonio Voce, said Judge Matteo Zanobini ruled that Diaw should remain behind bars.
Olsen, 35, originally from Florida, was found dead in her apartment on Jan. 9. An autopsy determined she had been strangled a day earlier and also suffered skull fractures. According to witnesses, Olsen and Diaw met at a Florence nightclub a few hours before the attack.
10 German victims of attack sent home
ISTANBUL – Coffins with the remains of 10 German tourists killed in a suicide bomb attack in Istanbul have been flown to Germany.
Police escorted the convoy of 10 funeral vehicles from a forensic institute morgue to Istanbul’s Ataturk airport on Saturday. They were put on a German air force plane, which landed a few hours later at the Tegel airport in Berlin.
The suicide bomber set off the explosion near German tourists visiting the city’s landmark Blue Mosque on Tuesday, killing 10 of them. Authorities said the victims ranged in age from 51 to 75.
Denmark to seize valuables of migrants
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Hoping to diminish Denmark’s appeal to migrants, the country’s government plans to force asylum-seekers to hand over any valuables worth more than $1,500 to help cover their housing and food costs while their cases are being processed.
The center-right government’s proposal is expected to be approved by Parliament this month despite outrage from human rights activists who say it’s a cruel and degrading way to treat people who have fled war and misery.
“Denmark must become significantly less attractive for asylum-seekers,” Immigration Minister Inger Stoejberg said Wednesday during the first of three readings of the bill in Parliament. She said fewer refugees would mean better opportunities to integrate immigrants who are already in Denmark.
Associated Press
