Catherine Serou.Photo: NNRU/Youtube
A 34-year-old American woman studying immigration law in Russia has been murdered, and authorities there say they have detained the man responsible.
The United States Embassy in Moscow confirmed via email that Catherine Serou — a former U.S. Marine from California and a graduate student at the State University of Nizhny Novgorod — has been found dead.
Serou’s body was recovered Saturday in the woods in the Nizhny Novgorod region, just east of Moscow.
She had been reported missing days earlier, and was last seen alive on June 15.
“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss,” the Embassy’s statement reads. “We are closely monitoring local authorities' investigation into the cause of death. We are providing all appropriate assistance to the family.”
The Embassy could not confirm an arrest had been made in the case.
ButCNN,NPR, andThe Vicksburg Postall report that a man was apprehended Sunday.
Alexander Popov was reportedly arrested on suspicion of murder in Serou’s death.
Alexander Popov.Roman Yarovitsyn/AP/Shutterstock
Popov, whose age was not released, appeared in court Sunday in the Russian city of Gorodets for his arraignment.
Popov is to remain in custody until mid-August, and if convicted, faces life imprisonment, according to reports.
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NPR spoke to the victim’s mother, Beccy Serou, who said that Popov gave Serou a ride after the law student, in a rush, entered his vehicle, mistaking it for an Uber.
According to the Associated Press, local authorities believe he drove her to a wooded area and beat and stabbed her.
Serou died at the scene.
The last text message she received from her daughter,she told NPR, read: “In a car with a stranger. I hope I’m not being abducted.”
“And that’s the last thing she wrote,” Beccy Serou said. “I think that when she saw that the person wasn’t driving to the clinic, but instead was driving into a forest, she panicked. Her telephone last pinged off a cell tower in that forest.”
source: people.com
