A British woman was killed in Cambodia after what police described as a deadly argument over a “love triangle.”
Jessica Cariad Hopkins, 34, was found stabbed to death just before midnight on Friday, Aug. 29, in a park near Koh Pich City Hall in Phnom Penh, according to the General Commissariat of National Police.
Police said she was discovered lying on the grass in the Chamkar Mon district with her sandals beside her. A blood-stained knife, believed to be the murder weapon, was also found nearby.
Investigators quickly identified a suspect. On Saturday, Aug. 30, around 3:30 p.m., police arrested 33-year-old Kidikila Nganda Glodie from the Democratic Republic of the Congo at a salon near the scene.
“This murder is a love triangle cause,” police stated.
Authorities believe Glodie stabbed Hopkins in the throat after an argument. The two women were roommates, living together in a rented house in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar district, officials told the Khmer Times.
According to police, Hopkins and Glodie rode a moped to Koh Pich that night. Once at the park, they began arguing. Glodie allegedly knocked Hopkins to the ground, pulled out a knife, and stabbed her several times before fleeing.
Brigadier General Bun Satya of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police said the motive was jealousy over a man. “During the interrogation after her arrest, the suspect confessed that she had killed the victim because she was angry at her for having an affair with her Congolese boyfriend,” Satya said, according to the Khmer Times.
Glodie is expected to face murder charges.
Hopkins was originally from Harpenden, a small town about 33 miles northwest of London, according to her Facebook page.
Her friend Sophors Chheoun remembered her in a heartfelt Facebook post:
“I am heartbroken to lose my lovely neighbor and dear friend Jessica Cariad Hopkins. She was such a caring person, always there for me and my family, helping in ways big and small. Her kindness, her smile, and her generous heart meant so much to me.
It feels unreal that she is gone. My heart aches knowing such a beautiful soul was taken from us too soon. Rest in peace, Jessica. You will forever be missed and remembered with love.”
