Friends of ‘fun, life-loving’ Finsbury Park murder victim ‘heartbroken’

“Heartbroken” friends of a woman found murdered in a north London park have been sharing memories of her “very kind, fun, life-loving and oh so young” nature.

The body of Iuliana Tudos, 22, was discovered in Finsbury Park on Wednesday afternoon.

She died as a result of a stab wound to the abdomen and a head injury, a post-mortem examination found.

Senya Taylor had known Ms Tudos for about three years after meeting and sharing a love for music.

“She was so young and friendly, she could make friends with anyone she met very easily,” said Ms Taylor.

“If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have met the love of my life too, which I’m forever grateful for.”

Ms Tudos, who police said was of Russian and Greek origin, was last seen by friends at around 8pm on December 24 when she headed for a bus home from Camden.

She was due to meet them at a friend’s home in Enfield, north-east London, later that evening before spending Christmas Day there, but never arrived.

“When I heard (of) her going missing, straight away that rang a bell because no-one I know is more responsible than she is,” said Ms Taylor.

“She couldn’t just disappear. She would always find a way to get in touch or get online or say she’s OK, always insisted to let her know you got home safe too.”

Friends have also paid tribute to Ms Tudos on social media.

“Dear best friend, thank you for being amazing,” wrote Eleni Sakka, alongside a photograph of her with Ms Tudos that she posted on Facebook.

Social media has also helped spread an online fundraising drive to pay for Ms Tudos’s funeral, which reached its £4,000 target within 11 hours.

Neighbour Sebastian Jonathan said: “She was a very nice person, young and gorgeous.

“I met her twice when she came over for beers when we had barbecues last summer.

“The police refused to give me any information, I had to Google it to see that she was the one found in the park.”

Ms Tudos, who called herself “Julie”, was from Moscow and worked at The World’s End pub in Camden, according to her Facebook page and neighbours.

She regularly attended concerts with friends and described herself as a “Camden punk” on her Facebook page.

Ms Tudos, who was 5ft 1in with a slim build, was last seen in Camden Road.

She was wearing a black and red hooded top with Agnostic Front – the name of an American punk band – on it, with light jeans and black and white Vans shoes.

Police said she was wearing glasses and was carrying a black and white fabric bag with “Fighting against Animal Testing” written on it.

He body was found in the park shortly before 4.30pm on Wednesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, is leading the investigation.

She said: “Iuliana’s body was discovered in an outbuilding next to a sports pitch.

“We believe that she may have been attacked on Saturday December 24 – Christmas Eve – but we want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in that part of Finsbury Park over the Christmas period.

“We are still trying to piece together a timeline of events and are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry as regards to a motive.”

Police said no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call the dedicated incident room on 0208 785 8244, tweet @MetCC or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Det Chief Insp Wall added: “Our inquiries from CCTV footage have now ascertained that Iuliana was seen on the periphery of the park on Christmas Eve, shortly after 20.20 hrs.

“We want to hear from anyone who saw, had contact with, or heard from Iuliana after this time.

“We’d also like to hear from anybody who saw anything suspicious within the park over the Christmas period.”

The Metropolitan Police said extra officers have been deployed in the area to try to help reassure the community.