Ashley Olsen, an American artist, was found strangled to death in her Florence apartment over the weekend and Italian police have yet to name a suspect. The lead detective on the case also worked the Amanda Knox murder case.
Olsen, 35, was found in her residence on Saturday, naked and with scratches and bruises on her neck, reported London's
Daily Mail. Medics believed she was strangled, but an autopsy still is being carried out.
Her body was found by her Italian-American boyfriend, Federico Fiorentini, 42, who had asked her landlord to open her apartment door because he had not heard from her in three days.
The couple had a falling out previously, said Italian news agency ANSA, and Fiorentini was questioned by police but no suspect has been named, said
Deutsche Welle.
"What happened in Florence is getting the maximum attention to find out what it's all about," Italy's national police chief, Alessandro Pansa said on Sunday.
Giancinto Profazio, the Italian detective in charge of the murder investigation, is the same officer who led the investigation into British exchange student Meredith Kercher's death in 2007 that eventually ensnarled Amanda Knox and her boyfriend, said the Daily Mail.
Last September, Italy's highest court threw out the Knox's conviction, citing "glaring errors," "investigative amnesia," and "guilty omissions" against her and Raffaele Sollecito, said
CNN.
Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede was convicted in 2008 and began serving a 16-year sentence for Kercher's murder.
Olsen's father had worked in Florence as an art professor for several years and people in town were familiar seeing her with her pet beagle, said Deutsche Welle.
Investigators said there was no indication of a break-in, reported
CBS News, possibly indicating that Olsen knew her killer. Some of Olsen's friends told investigators they were with Olsen at a Florence nightspot late Thursday but she stayed when they decided to leave.
"Florence is safe," the city's police chief, Raffaele Micillo, told ANSA Monday. He said Olsen's death is "a very grave occurrence and we are giving it utmost attention and we are working in sync with the prosecutors' office, but it could have happened in any city."
The Daily Mail said Olsen had shared pictures on Instagram suggesting she was being stalked. She posted the first picture 12 weeks ago that shows her back, a coffee cup in her hand as she walks her dog.
Olsen posted another picture three weeks later, showing her flipping off someone while browsing through clothes at the Piazza Santo Spirito.
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