American au pair found dead in Vienna, authorities treating case as murder

The 25-year-old was discovered partially clothed in her apartment with the lights burnt out

25-year-old Lauren Mann had worked in Vienna for three years and was learning German (Facebook / Lauren Mann)

An American au pair has been found dead in Vienna and authorities are treating the case as murder.

Lauren Mann, 25, was discovered partially clothed in her apartment, lying face down on a mattress near a “considerable amount of blood”, according to reports.

Firefighters went to Ms Mann’s apartment after her boss became alarmed when she did not show up for work.

Ms Mann’s door was knocked down on Tuesday night and she was found lying in total darkness as all the lights had burnt out.

The autopsy of the woman has not revealed the cause of death. Vienna police spokesman Thomas Keiblinger said that investigators are awaiting results of toxicological tests over the next few days.

“We are still awaiting the final autopsy report, but are presently treating this as a homicide case,” Mr Keiblinger told NBC.

The alleged victim was born in Colorado, where she took a degree in French, and had been working in Vienna for three years while studying German.

The US embassy in Vienna said it was assisting Austrian authorities in their investigation.

Additional reporting by AP.