Female Monaco bomb suspect with snake tattoo found shot dead in Ukraine
The suspected bomber behind an assassination attempt on a Ukrainian oligarch in Monaco has been found dead with gunshot wounds in Ukraine.
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Anastasiia Berezovska was wanted over the explosion targeting Ukrainian-born oligarch Vadim Ermolaev, 58.
An international manhunt had been launched to track her down after the devastated bombing that left the oligarch and his partner fighting for life and their son injured.
According to sources in the investigation speaking to Ukrainian news outlet Pravda, police discovered the 39-year-old’s body in Kyiv, at around 11pm on Monday night. She had been shot.
The country's prosecutor general's office later confirmed that Berezovska had been killed.
In a statement, prosecutors said they detained an employee of Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR), who said he killed the woman. Another suspect was also arrested and is understood to be a policeman.
Berezovska was wanted by Interpol following the blast in Monaco on 29 June.
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Berezovska was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy.
Ermolaev, his alleged mistress Anna Nasobina and her 13-year-old son were all caught in the blast.
Ermolaev is in critical condition while Anna is also fighting for her life, having had both her legs amputated.
Investigators said a device, concealed within a bag, was detonated remotely once the intended victims were in range near their apartment in Monaco.
Interpol issued a Red Notice for Berezovska along with an arrest warrant and picture. They described her as having a large tattoo possibly of a snake on her right arm from the shoulder to elbow.
Two suspects were detained after her body was discovered, including a serving military intelligence officer, said the Pravda news outlet, citing a law enforcement source.
The oligarch - one of Ukraine’s richest men - is understood to have emerged from a coma after the blast. However Nasobina, who has ties to London, remains seriously ill.
It was initially thought that Ermolaev’s wife, Anna Ermolaeva, 56, had been wounded but she was not in the country at the time of the blast.
After the attack a woman resembling Berezovska was reported to have travelled on foot across the border to France, before heading to the town of Beausoleil, and making her way to Italy and then Germany.