A woman believed to be Italian was stabbed to death in a Beijing park in what police believe was a botched robbery, state press reported Wednesday.
The unidentified woman was found near an art gallery in Chaoyang Park, close to a trendy Beijing bar district, the Beijing News reported.
She had been stabbed twice in the chest and was found still alive by a security worker from the art gallery about 2:00 am Tuesday, the report said.
She was pronounced dead at a local hospital nearly an hour later, it said.
A knife was found at the scene, along with evidence that the woman, believed to be in her twenties, tried to flee the attack, it said.
Police found no purse at the scene, leading them to suspect robbery as the motive in the crime, it said.
However a credit card found on the victim led police to conclude she was of Italian origin, it said.
Police officials and the Italian embassy in Beijing refused to comment on the case when contacted by AFP.
