Estonian appears in court over body in UK shallow grave

An Estonian man charged over the murder of a Frenchwoman found in a shallow grave at her London home appeared in court in Britain on Thursday.

Kirill Belorusov, 32, was detained in the Estonian capital Tallinn last week on a European arrest warrant.

The body of Laureline Garcia-Bertaux, 34, was discovered in her back garden in southwest London on March 6. A post-mortem found she had been strangled.

Belorusov appeared in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates Court in west London dressed in a blue jumper.

He spoke only to confirm his details and told the court he was born in Russia but held Estonian citizenship.

His case was forwarded up to the Old Bailey in central London, England’s central criminal court, where he will appear on Monday.

Garcia-Bertaux was reported missing after she failed to arrive for work at a public relations firm on March 5.

She had reportedly also worked as a film producer.