Ukrainian police investigate possible murder after suspicious death of US embassy staffer in Kiev

Police in Kiev have announced that a woman reported to be a US embassy staff member died in mysterious circumstances on Wednesday. She was found with head injuries in a wooded area of the city’s western Shevchenkovsky district.

The woman, who later passed away in hospital, was carrying a United States embassy ID card with a name on it. The website nv.ua and other local media have identified her as 'Sanver Nikaelo.' However, the embassy's website does not mention any such employee, and there does not appear to be any trace online of a person with this name. It is possible that it is a transliteration from Ukrainian of another name.

The authorities are assuming that the woman was attacked. The head of Kiev’s national police force, Andrey Krishchenko, announced in an interview with local television station Nash that a criminal case had been opened to investigate a suspected murder.

Cops are looking for a man thought to be linked to the incident, described as being in his thirties, 190-200cm (about six feet) in height, wearing black shorts, dark blue trainers and a t-shirt. The man has dark hair, cut short at the sides. Ukrainian police are currently conducting investigations at the hospital and at the location where the woman was found, and are attempting to identify eyewitnesses.

As the woman was found close to some railway lines, police are also investigating the possibility that Nikaelo was hit by a train while out running, and may not have heard the locomotive due to having headphones in her ears.

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