The body of a woman dressed as a “vampire” who was hunting for ghosts was discovered in an abandoned church in Italy.
Auriane Nathalie Laisne, a 22-year-old French woman, may have been a victim of a “consented murder” or sacrifice – theories detectives are currently looking into.
Police also believe the 22-year-old’s death could be linked to a ghost-hunting challenge on TikTok, popular in France.
Her body was discovered by a hiker in a fetal position at Chatelard Castle, in the Aosta Valley on April 6, though it is thought that she was killed between 26 and 27 March.
The 22-year-old had travelled from her hometown near Lyon, France, to La Salle in Aosta Valley, Italy.
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She was wearing a sweatshirt covered in blood from various wounds, and police told CNN that some of the blood at the site had been scraped off the floor and removed.
A witness described spotting Laisne with a male friend days before her death, with the pair dressed “like vampires”.
Laisne was described as looking “emaciated” and like a “walking corpse”, whilst the man had dark hair and olive skin.
The witness told Il Giornale: “They were dressed like two goths, all in dark. Like those boys who venerate death. I thought: two vampires.”
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Laisne suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck and stomach, as well as three gunshots to her neck and body, an autopsy revealed.
Medical examiner Roberto Testi said the shots may have been inflicted after she had died.
Police said that there were no signs of a struggle.
The 22-year-old had travelled from her hometown near Lyon, France, to La Salle in Aosta Valley, Italy. She had informed her family of plans to find a “haunted house believed to contain ghosts,” police told the American outlet.
Police speculate she may have been participating in a ghost-hunting challenge on TikTok
PAAccording to a Google Maps estimate, the journey should have taken approximately an hour via car.
Police launched a manhunt for the male seen with her and have since tracked down a suspect in France.
Teima Sohaib, 21, from Italy, was arrested on suspicion of murder and is due to face trial in the French city of Grenoble.
The French woman was found with a packet of pink marshmallows and groceries near her corpse, according to police, and had been wearing leggings, a jumper and a dark coat.