NICOSIA, Cyprus — Divers have dragged a suitcase containing decomposing human remains from a toxic lake, a Cyprus police spokesman said Tuesday, the third such discovery in the east Mediterranean island nation’s serial killer case.
Andreas Angelides said the discovery is a “major development” in the unfolding investigation of a Cypriot army captain who has confessed to the killings of seven foreign women and girls.
Angelides said tests will be carried out to determine the person’s identity.
“We proceeded with our search keeping two key factors in mind, the degree of difficulty and the level of danger involved,” said Angelides.
It was the third suitcase containing a body that authorities pulled from the lake in a six-week search.
The 35-year-old suspect had told investigators that he disposed of the bodies of a Filipino woman and a Romanian mother and daughter in the lake after placing their bodies in suitcases.
The body in the latest find is believed to belong to Maricar Valtez Arquiola, 31, of the Philippines.
The case came to light on April 14 when the bound body of 38-year-old Mary Rose Tiburcio was found down a flooded shaft near the toxic lake that is part of what is now a disused copper mine.