British woman stabbed to death over ‘love triangle’ in Cambodia

Jessica Cariad Hopkins, 34, was found dead in a Phnom Penh park

Jessica Cariad Hopkins, 34, found dead with multiple wounds in a park near Phnom Penh (Facebook)

A British woman was stabbed to death in Cambodia in what the police said was a case linked to jealousy over a “love triangle”.

The victim was named by authorities as 34-year-old Jessica Cariad Hopkins, originally from Harpenden in Hertfordshire. She was discovered with multiple stab wounds on Friday night in a public park in the Chamkarmon district of Phnom Penh, the country’s capital, according to reports.

Phnom Penh police commissioner Chuon Narin said Hopkins had been attacked near a popular garden area, with preliminary findings suggesting the motive may have been personal jealousy. The motive for the murder is believed to be a love triangle, Mr Narin told local media.

Police confirmed that a 33-year-old woman, also a foreign national, was arrested the following afternoon in connection with the killing.

She was later identified by officials as Kidikila Nganda Glodie, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ms Glodie is understood to have been living with Ms Hopkins in a rented property in Phnom Penh.

The two women were seen travelling together by motorbike to Koh Pich – a riverfront area known as Diamond Island – before sitting in a nearby park where a heated argument allegedly broke out, said Phnom Pehn’s deputy chief of criminal investivation, Em Vichter.

Mr Vichter told the Khmer Times that witnesses reported seeing the suspect knock Ms Hopkins to the ground.

“According to witnesses, the suspect knocked the victim down and pushed her to the ground,” he said. Mr Vichter added that investigators would allege Ms Glodie produced a knife and stabbed the victim “many times in the throat” before fleeing the scene.

Detectives later recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon at the site of the attack.

Police tracked Ms Glodie to a beauty salon in Daun Penh district, about 1.5 miles away, where she was detained at around 4.30pm on Saturday. Video footage shared on social media showed her being escorted from Zola Salon in handcuffs by officers.

Brigadier General Bun Satya, another senior police officer, said the suspect had admitted she believed her boyfriend was having an affair, which may have triggered the confrontation.

The killing has shocked the expatriate community in Cambodia, where Hopkins had lived for several years. She first moved to Siem Reap, the country’s second-largest city and gateway to the Angkor Wat temple complex, before relocating to Phnom Penh.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed it was providing support to Ms Hopkins’s family. A spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Cambodia and are in contact with the local authorities.”