Decades-Old Cold Case in Spain Comes to Light: Woman Identified After 20 Years

Mon Sep 29 2025 00:24:32 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A major breakthrough in an old Spanish cold case as the identity of a Russian woman found dead in 2005 is revealed through international police collaboration.

Liudmila Zavada, a 31-year-old Russian citizen whose body was found in Spain over 20 years ago, has been identified through Interpol's Operation Identify Me. Following her suspicious death, police investigations had stalled until recent advancements in forensic identification brought her name back to light, potentially offering new hope to families of the missing.

A woman whose body was discovered in Spain more than 20 years ago has been identified through an international police campaign.

The woman was named on Thursday as 31-year-old Russian citizen Liudmila Zavada.

She is the third person to be identified through the Operation Identify Me initiative, which was launched by police in 2023 in an effort to find the names of women who had been murdered or died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances in Europe.

Valdecy Urquiza, secretary general of international policing agency Interpol which leads the campaign, said the latest identification would give 'fresh hope to the families and friends of missing persons' and 'new leads' to investigators. 'After 20 years, an unknown woman has been given back her name,' he said.

Ms Zavada's body was discovered in July 2005 beside a road in the province of Barcelona in northeastern Spain. Local police referred to her as 'the woman in pink', as she was dressed in a pink floral top, pink trousers, and pink shoes. The cause of death was deemed suspicious, as evidence suggested that the body had been moved in the 12 hours before it was found.

Last year, the case was added to Operation Identify Me, which has seen Interpol 'black notices' released to the public for the first time, and records such as fingerprints shared with police forces around the world. Earlier this year, Turkish police ran the fingerprints through a national database, uncovering Ms Zavada's identity, with DNA confirmation established from a relative in Russia.

Investigations into her death and the surrounding circumstances continue, as police are still working to identify another 44 women found dead across Europe, highlighting the ongoing challenges related to human trafficking and gender-based violence.