4 Jul 2016

Fiji police confirm body parts belong to Russian couple

2:54 pm on 4 July 2016

The police in Fiji have confirmed that body remains found washed ashore last week belong to a missing couple from Russia.

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Photo: Copyright: fergregory / 123RF Stock Photo

FBC news reports the police are treating the case as murder.

The broadcaster reports Luke Navela of the Fiji police saying DNA tests have confirmed the remains found on Natadola beach belong to Yuri Shipulin and his wife Natalia.

The couple were reported missing in mid June.

Interpol has been helping Fiji police with the investigation.

A new team of navy divers are assisting police divers in an expanded search for other remains.

A close friend of the couple, Alla Mallerich, told the Fiji Times she had known the couple since they arrived in Fiji from Russia in 2011.