Beauty influencer Stefanie Pieper has been found dead nearly a week after she disappeared following a Christmas party, authorities have confirmed. She was 31.
According to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Pieper’s body was discovered in a forested area in Slovenia. Investigators allege that her ex-boyfriend, also 31, admitted to strangling her and led police to the location where he had hidden her body in a suitcase.
Pieper was last seen on Nov. 23 after returning home from a Christmas party, according to the Styrian State Police. She was reported to have exited a taxi with a friend outside her apartment, but relatives became concerned and notified authorities when she failed to appear at a scheduled photo shoot.
In a Nov. 26 statement, police confirmed that Pieper was missing after she did not show up for work and “could not be reached.” They also announced that her ex-boyfriend had been arrested in connection with her disappearance.
Authorities said the man is believed to have driven to Slovenia several times in his car and could not initially be reached by investigators. On Monday evening, Nov. 24, 2025, Slovenian police reported that a car had caught fire in the parking lot of a casino near the border. The vehicle was identified as belonging to the 31-year-old suspect. He was found near the burning car and taken into custody by Slovenian authorities, and extradition to Austria has been requested.
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Local outlets Oe24 and 20 Minuten report that Pieper had sent a WhatsApp message to a friend saying she had arrived home safely. Shortly afterward, she reportedly sent another message saying she thought someone was in her stairwell. According to Kleine Zeitung, neighbors also reported hearing an argument and allegedly seeing her ex-boyfriend at the scene.
The following day, the Styrian State Police announced that two of the ex-boyfriend’s family members had also been arrested.
“The detainees are in police custody and are being questioned,” authorities said at the time. They added that a forensic examination of the ex-boyfriend’s car “yielded no clues as to the missing woman’s whereabouts.”
Investigations are ongoing in both Austria and Slovenia, with authorities describing “close cooperation” between the two countries. Initial search efforts in Slovenia were unsuccessful, but officials said operations would continue — efforts that ultimately led to the discovery of Pieper’s body.
