Conference News Daily/THE DURBAN CONFERENCE: Murdered delegate might have been strangled. By Gayatri Iyer

DURBAN--An Italian delegate to the nongovernmental organization forum at the World Conference against Racism was found dead early Friday morning at the Killarny hotel in Durban.

Cleaners came upon his body under the bed in a room that was formerly inhabited by four women. The women, who were believed to be prostitutes, had checked out before the murder was discovered. Their room was two floors above the delegate's room.

Police found personal belongings of the delegate that included his passport, luggage and a conference bag. He was Sicilian and about 32-years old. His name has yet to be released.

Although investigators from Durban's Serious and Violent Crimes Unit gathered evidence at the crime scene on Friday, other details of the crime have not been released. A security guard who saw the body said that there were no immediately visible wounds, which has led the Durban newspapers to speculate that he was strangled.

A postmortem has been scheduled for Monday. The hotel has refused to comment on the incident.

The Italian diplomat was in Durban to attend the NGO Forum that is to end Sunday. The Killarney hotel is in close proximity to the Cricket Stadium where a majority of the NGO meetings are held. Other delegates, attending both the NGO Forum and the World Conference Against Racism, are staying in the hotel.

Print Issue