Estonian citizen to be extradited to UK in murder case
Harju County Court gave the go-ahead for the extradition of Kirill Belorusov, 32, on Friday. Belorusov, who is reported to have been living in London for several years and working as a bartender, is a suspect in the murder of Laureline Garcia-Bertaux, a French national.
Ms Garcia-Bertaux's body was found in a shallow grave in the garden of her southwest London home on 6 March. Autopsy reports indicate that she had been strangled.
Belorusov and Ms Garcia-Bertaux had previously been in a relationship, it is reported.
Ms Garcia-Bertaux, 34, from Aix-en-Provence, who worked as a PR executive, had been reported missing after failing to turn up to work on 5 March.
According to UK daily the Guardian, she also worked as a film-maker, including on a 2018 short with veteran actress Joan Collins. Ms Collins was reported to have been "shocked by the horrifying news" of the murder.
The London Metropolitan Police worked in conjunction with Europol in tracing and apprehending Belorusov, who was arrested in Tallinn on Wednesday, on a European Arrest Warrant.
Aare Pere, assistant prosecutor at the North District Prosecutor's Office, said in court that there were legal grounds for his extradition to the UK, which the suspect's lawyer, Nadežda Kikkas, concurred with, BNS reports.
The suspect, who according to daily Postimees is the son of a former Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) officer who served for around two decades, also requested transfer to the UK as quickly as possible, according to BNS, who added that he is continuing to protest his innocence in the case.
Editor: Andrew Whyte
