Promoter of World Peace Found Murdered

The murdered body of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, known as Pippa Bacca, was found naked in bushes outside the Turkish city of Gebze.

She and a friend had been hitch-hiking from Italy to the Middle East dressed as brides, to promote world peace by putting their trust in the kindness of local people. The artists separated in Istanbul, and had planned to reunite 600 miles away in Beirut.

The last reported sighting of di Marineo was in Gebze on March 31st, twenty-three days after she and her friend separated.

Murat Karatas, 38, was detained by Turkish police on Friday and has since confessed to raping and murdering di Marineo. According to an official with the Italian embassy, police were able to track the man because he inserted a new SIM card into di Marineo's mobile phone.

The autopsy carried out in Istanbul confirmed that she was raped before she was murdered, and some local news agencies are reporting that she was strangled, but the Italian embassy has yet to comment on the actual cause of death.

Her body was identified by a sister who traveled to Turkey looking for her. Maria, another sister, told an Italian news agency, "Her travels were for an artistic performance and to give a message of peace and of trust, but not everyone deserves trust."