Italian police are investigating the discovery of an Asian woman's body stuffed in a suitcase floating at a marina northeast of Rome.
Italian media have reported that the woman likely died of malnutrition. The body also showed signs of physical abuse, police told Italian media.
Authorities carted the suitcase away in a coroners' van for an autopsy after it was discovered on Saturday by a boat owner tending to his vessel in the Adriatic port of Rimini.
Police were seen gingerly peeling back the suitcase cover and then wrapping the bag with tarp.
The man who said he discovered the suitcase, Silvano Baldacci, told Rimini television that he and a friend had hauled the suitcase onto the dock, noting its weight but assuming it was just waterlogged. He said when they opened it, they discovered a black plastic bag with the body "and then a smell came out".
