Kew murder: Man held in Estonia over film-maker death

Image source, Metropolitan Police

Image caption, The body of Laureline Garcia-Bertaux was found in a shallow grave

A man has been arrested in Estonia on suspicion of murdering a French film-maker whose body was found in a shallow grave in west London.

Laureline Garcia-Bertaux, 34, was discovered in her garden in Darell Road in Kew on 6 March after being reported missing the day before.

The Met said a 32-year-old man had been detained in Tallinn, Estonia's capital.

He is being held in an Estonian police station before extradition proceedings begin, the force added.

Ms Garcia-Bertaux, a French national who had been living in the UK for many years, did not turn up for work at public relations firm Golin on 4 March and was reported missing the following day.

A post-mortem examination gave her cause of death as "consistent with compression of the neck".

Image source, PA

Image caption, Ms Garcia-Bertaux had been living in Darell Road, Kew, since April 2018

Originally from Aix-en-Provence, Ms Garcia-Bertaux had worked with Dame Joan Collins on the 2018 short film Gerry. The actress said she was "shocked by the horrifying news" of her death.

Producer and actress friend Hester Ruoff described the 34-year-old as "an amazing individual" and said they had been due to start filming on a new movie next month.

Scotland Yard said it had worked with Eurojust in the Hague and Europol to trace and detain the 32-year-old man after issuing an European arrest warrant.