Thiruvananthapuram: The headless body found at a plot on the banks of Karamana river at Vazhamuttom, near Kovalam, on Friday is of Latvian tourist Liga Skromane who has been missing for the last 38 days.

Her sister Ilze who identified her clothes on Saturday alleged that she was murdered. It is suspected that she was killed a month ago.

The headless body found at a plot on the banks of Karamana river at Vazhamuttom, near Kovalam, on Friday is of Latvian tourist Liga Skromane, who has been missing for the last 38 days. Her sister Ilze who identified her clothes on Saturday alleged that she was murdered. It is suspected that she was killed a month ago. She was last spotted at Kovalam, around 1.8 km from Vazhamuttom. She was in India for treating depression. The body was spotted by young anglers on the shady plot with mangrove vegetation located on the river bank. While the shirt and leggings on the body were identified by Ilze, she said that the jacket and footwear did not belong to Liga. It is not clear how Liga reached the spot which can be accessed only if one passes through Panathura from Samudra beach. The police said that they will not be able to confirm the identity of the body unless DNA analysis is completed.

“The skull was found nearby and the flesh on the legs and hands had come off. There were cigarette packets, packaged drinking water and lighter near the body that probably would have belonged to the victim,” said a senior police officer. An inquest was conducted at the spot in the presence of the revenue divisional officer on Saturday morning.

The body was then shifted to the Medical College Hospital where it underwent an autopsy which was videographed. Liga was undergoing yoga therapy when she abruptly left her resort on March 14. Pothencode police registered a case but her family alleged a cold start to the inquiry. The police probe picked up pace after her partner Andrew Jordan and Ilze approached the local press and started online campaigns to find her.