Thirty-one-year-old man detained in connection with death of woman who went missing in north London on Christmas Eve

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Iuliana Tudos, whose body was found in a park in north London after she failed to turn up at her friend’s house on Christmas Day.

The 31-year-old man was detained at 1.30pm on New Year’s Day in east London, Scotland Yard said.

Officers believe Tudos, 22, was attacked on Christmas Eve. She had been stabbed and sustained a head injury, and was found by her friends in a disused outhouse in Finsbury Park three days later.

The man was taken to a police station in south-west London.

The Haringey borough police commander, DCS Des Fahy, said extra officers had been deployed for reassurance. “We understand that the local community might have concerns, but I want to reassure people that incidents of this nature are incredibly rare.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A police officer guards a tent covering the area in Finsbury Park where the body of Iuliana Tudos was found. Photograph: Dinendra Haria/REX/Shutterstock

“We have police out and about on patrol and local neighbourhood policing teams have been out speaking to members of the community. By all accounts, Iuliana was a bubbly lively girl enjoying a fun life in London when she was tragically taken from her loved ones. Our hearts go out to them.”

A postmortem took place at Haringey mortuary on 28 December and gave the cause of death as a stab wound to the abdomen and a head injury. Police said further tests were ongoing.

Tudos, who police said was of Russian and Greek origin, was last seen by friends at about 8pm on Christmas Eve as she headed for a bus home from Camden, north London.

She was due to meet them at another friend’s home in Enfield, further to the north, that evening before spending Christmas Day there. But she never arrived.

Police said CCTV footage showed Tudos on the periphery of the park shortly after 8.20pm. A crowdfunding appeal to raise money to cover her funeral has raised more than £15,000.