Missing influencer Stefanie Pieper found dead, buried in forest
Missing Austrian beauty influencer Stefanie Pieper was reportedly found dead in a Slovenian forest after her ex-boyfriend allegedly led law enforcement to where he buried her remains.
Pieper, 31, from Graz, had been missing for almost a week when the horrific discovery was made. Relatives and colleagues contacted authorities after she failed to show up for work last Sunday and could not be contacted, according to Styrian State Police.
A subsequent investigation quickly determined that her unidentified ex-boyfriend, a 31-year-old Slovenian citizen living in Graz, “could be linked to her disappearance.”
On Monday, Slovenian police received a report that a car belonging to the man had been found on fire in the parking lot of a casino in Šentilj, just across the Austrian border and about an hour’s drive south of Graz. Police quickly located the man “in the immediate vicinity of the burning vehicle” and took him into custody.
He was then extradited to Austria and questioned for several hours by police on Friday, but has so far provided no information. A forensic examination of his vehicle, which he is said to have driven several times in Slovenia in recent days, also “provided no clues” as to where Pieper might be.
In an update released Saturday, authorities said the days-long search ended after the suspect finally confessed, leading police to locate Pieper’s remains in Slovenia.
According to national newspaper Kronen Zeitung, the man led investigators to a forest where he buried her body in a suitcase after allegedly strangling her.
In addition to the murder suspect, two other male relatives were also arrested this week in connection with the case, police said. The men, identified by the newspaper as his brother and father-in-law, were remanded in custody due to a risk of obstructing justice.
The circumstances preceding Pieper’s death remain unclear. A joint press conference by Austrian and Slovenian investigators as well as the Graz public prosecutor’s office is planned for Sunday morning.
Pieper was a makeup artist and singer, with over 47,000 followers on Instagram.
