Beauty influencer was ‘subjected to violence’ before she was found in suitcase in the woods, authorities reveal
An Austrian beauty influencer was subjected to violence before her death, authorities revealed.
The body of Stefanie Pieper, 31, was found stuffed in a suitcase buried in a forest in Slovenia on Nov. 28, almost a week after she was reported missing when she failed to return home from a Christmas party on Nov. 23.
Now her autopsy has determined she “had been subjected to violence” before her death,” Patricia Weber from the Graz Public Prosecutor’s Office told People.
Pieper’s 31-year-old ex-boyfriend “is currently in custody,” Weber continued.
“Further information cannot be provided at this time as the investigation is still ongoing,” Weber said.
The ex-boyfriend, who has not been publicly identified, was arrested on Nov. 24, while police searched a wooded area south of Maribor, Slovenia, to which he had “close family ties,” but no evidence of Pieper was found, police said at the time.
Four days later, the ex-boyfriend was extradited from Slovenia to Austria, where he allegedly “confessed to the crime and gave the police directions on where to search for the missing woman,” police said.
Pieper’s body was subsequently found in a suitcase buried in the forest, per police.
Two of the former partner’s relatives were arrested during the investigation after police received “indication” that they may have been connected to Pieper’s disappearance.
They were subsequently released after the boyfriend’s alleged confession and the discovery of the body, according to a police news release from Nov. 30.
