Ukrainian interpreter found dead with her hands cuffed behind her back and a plastic bag over her head at her apartment in Turkey

A Ukrainian interpreter has been found dead with her hands cuffed behind her back and a plastic bag over her head at her apartment in Turkey.

Kristina Novitskaya, 30, was discovered at her home in the Bodrum resort on the Aegean coast on Saturday. She had died a few days earlier.

The front door was locked with the key inside, the windows were also secured from the inside and there was no trace of any struggle.

Local police say the main line inquiry is suicide, but her friends say that 'life-loving' and 'cheerful' Ms Novitskaya would not have ended her own life.

However, they added that she was 'secretive' about her private life in Turkey, where she lived and worked as an interpreter and dance instructor.

We do not believe that she committed suicide, a friend told Obozrevatel media in Kyiv.

Reports say Turkish police believe she had become depressed at a lack of work due to the pandemic, yet the precise cause of death has not been revealed.

After her family, friends and neighbours could not reach her, they alerted police. Her body was found in a sitting position on a chair in the middle of the room.

She was handcuffed, and a plastic bag was on her head, say reports.

Ropes, charcoal, and a scarf were also found at the scene but no cause of death has been announced so far.

The corpse has been sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy.