A crowdfunding page has been launched to pay for Iuliana Tudo’s funeral and so far the amount raised has more than tripled the target of £4,000.
The bairmaid was beaten and stabbed in the stomach as she took a short cut through Finsbury Park, North London, to a friend’s house on Christmas Eve.
The 22-year-old could have been killed by a homeless man trying to mug her as officers search a tent that was found 100 yards from the spot where Miss Tudos was discovered dead.
The fundraiser aims to cover the cost of ‘Julie’s’ funeral and raised nearly £5,000 in its first 12 hours.
The body of Iuliana Tudos, 22, was found in a ‘terrible state’ 500 yards from her front door in Finsbury Park, North London – three days after she disappeared on Christmas Eve
The GoFundMe page, set up by Krystyna Rymarczyk (doub corr), has been overwhelmed with donations of more than £12,000 and so far more than 800 people so far have donated to the appeal.
She wrote: ‘We are fundraising for Julie Tudos 22-year old bartender from World’s End pub in Camden Town who was brutally murdered on Christmas Eve in Finsbury Park in London on her way home from work.
‘We would like to help her family to cover funeral expenses in this difficult time for them, this is what we can do for Julie.’
Donor Daniel Howard wrote: “I didn’t know Juliana but happened to get chatting to her outside the Underworld before a gig only recently and she was really kind and funny.
“My condolences go out to her family and those who were close to her.”
Another, Susanne Bayliss, wrote: “We often go to shows at the Underworld and I have been to the pub upstairs often before or after shows.
“I did not know Julie, but maybe she served me a beer or a gin and tonic before … it feels like we lost one of our own…”
One line of inquiry Scotland Yard is considering is that she was killed as she attempted to fend off a drifter who was trying to rob her.
Her body was found by friends three days later in a ‘terrible state’, 100 yards from the tent of a homeless man.
A forensic team examined the tent and a purple suitcase found inside as detectives attempt to ‘piece together a timeline’. Divers also searched a river next to the tent.
The outbuilding where the Russian barmaid’s body was found – just 500 yards from her front door – is popular with the homeless, locals said.
One of Miss Tudos’s neighbours said he often saw her walk through the park to get home.
‘We all walk through the park a lot so for this to happen so close is very scary,’ he said. ‘It’s so sad, she was so young.’
Serena Mendes, 36, who lives nearby, said: ‘I walk here a lot with my children and it can be very dangerous at night. There is not much light on the footpaths, especially down towards the old cricket pavilion. It is very frightening to see all the police activity now.’
The alarm was raised when Miss Tudos, known to friends as Julie, did not arrive for work at a pub in Camden on Boxing Day.
Her body was found in a ‘terrible state’ in an outbuilding next to a sports pitch only 500 yards from her front door in Finsbury Park, North London
Police hunting for the rock club worker’s killer have sent in a diving team to dredge the park’s river for the knife used to stab her in the stomach
A tent also appeared today next to the ‘New River’ that runs through the centre of the park around 100 yards or so from where the body was found
Specialist officers are forensically examining a tent and a purple suitcase found inside around 100 yards away with specialist divers searching the river next to it in Finsbury Park
Friends left flowers and tributes at the park with a friend called Rosie writing: ‘My dear Julie, my beautiful flatmate, our lives won’t be the same without you. My heart is burning. Justice will never be served enough. Your memory will live on.’
Des Fahey, the Met’s acting Islington borough commander, said some of Miss Tudos’s personal items were missing, and police were still searching for a murder weapon.
He added: ‘There is a tent used by homeless people, there are a lot of homeless people in the park and that forms part of the inquiry.’
Ms Tudos, who also called herself ‘Julie’, was from Moscow and worked at the World’s End pub in Camden, according to her Facebook page and neighbours
Iuliana’s devastated flatmate Rosie said: ‘Justice will never be served enough’ as her killer remained on the loose.
She left a letter for her ‘sweet’ and ‘beautiful’ friend yards from where she was found murdered and wrote: ‘Our lives won’t be the same without you. So young, so beautiful, taken from us far too early.
‘I will only ever hold on to the good memories. I will miss you every day. My heart is burning. Your memory will live on’.
Another friend, Chloe, also left a note for her at the scene which said: ‘I can’t believe this happened to such a sweet girl’.
Yesterday a tent sitting behind a row of trees behind the outbuilding where her body was found had been taped off by police.
The orange and dark grey tent was erected between the river and tall trees, and also has a purple suitcase sitting outside.
Police taped off the area around the softball field and the surrounding parkland, as well as a separate cordon for the tent.
Police said Iuliana had been stabbed in the abdomen, had a head injury and lay undiscovered for three days
A woman looks at messages and flowers left in tribute to Iuliana Tudos
Passersby stop to read messages and flowers left in tribute to murdered Luliana Tudos, who was found in a north London park in Finsbury Park
Iuliana’s flatmate Rosie left a letter for her friend at the scene of her murder and said: ‘Justice will never be served enough’
Another friend of Julie’s, Chloe, paid tribute to her ‘happy and bubbly’ friend and described her love of McDonalds and tattoos
Jon Savage, 56, who lives in Finsbury Park, said: ‘There are quite a few homeless people in the park, they put up tents near trees.
‘There’s always a couple dotted around no matter the weather.
‘During the summer there are a lot more homeless people sleeping rough all over the park. Some just sleep on old mattresses.
‘It can be quite intimidating. They also sleep rough under Finsbury Park Bridge and Stroud Green Bridge near the station.
‘They even set up bedrooms with furniture and mattresses.
‘It got so bad earlier in the year they all had to be moved on from under the bridge by the council.’
Iuliana’s friend Sonny, who called her his ‘little sis’, said he loved her ‘to the stars and back’
More floral tributes to Luliana Tudos adorn a fence erected by police as they carry out forensic investigations
Flowers and messages are tied to the railings next to the taped off crime scene in Finsbury Park today
Miss Tudos worked at the famous World’s End pub in Camden and was beloved by colleagues and regulars
Police were looking through leaves under the trees close to the crime scene yesterday afternoon
Specialist teams including officers with sniffer dogs were searching the riverbank close to the tent as divers entered the water
Miss Tudos worked at the famous World’s End pub in Camden and was beloved by colleagues and regulars.
On Facebook she described herself as: ‘Miss Sass. Sarcasm & profanity. Cynicism. Geek. Lone wolf. Camden punk’ and said she was a ‘happy slave’ at the club and pub.
Miss Tudos, who was 5ft 1in tall, was last seen at 8pm on Christmas Eve getting on a bus from Camden to Finsbury Park and may have decided to take the 13-minute short cut from her local bus stop through the park in the dark when she was attacked.
Her neighbour Sebastian Jonathan said: ‘She was a very nice person, young and gorgeous.
‘I met her twice when she came over for beers when we had barbecues last summer.
‘The police refused to give me any information, I had to Google it to see that she was the one found in the park.’
A neighbour who lives in the above flat described Julie as a ‘cool girl’ and said: ‘She worked a lot, had a lot of friends.
Friend Senya Taylor posted a number of pictures together with the murder victim after her tragic death
Friends said Iuliana was ‘very kind, fun, and life-loving’ with a passion for music
‘It’s so sad, she was so young, we all walk through the park a lot so for this to happen so close is very scary.
‘I don’t know much else about her as I would only see her occasionally as she was often out working.
‘She lived with flatmates, I only know one, an Italian guy called Andre.’
Her friend Sonny Webb, who had been sharing appeals before her body was found, posted a picture of them together and the message: ‘Just feel broken’.
Iuliana had been taking a short cut through the park when she was assaulted by the stranger on Christmas Eve, police believe.
Her body, which friends said was in a ‘terrible state’, lay undiscovered for three days.
Fears grew after Miss Tudos, who is from Moscow, failed to show up for work at 4pm on Boxing Day at the World’s End pub in Camden.
When her landlord opened her locked bedroom in a shared house, her passport and all her belongings were found untouched.
Iuliana Tudos’ best friend Eleni Sakka, from Nicosia, Cyprus, posted a photo of herself with the murder victim and said: ‘Rest in peace my angel’ as police hunted for her killer today
A crowdfunding page has been launched to pay for Iuliana’s funeral and loved-ones have rushed to give tributes to the popular bar worker, who was also known as Julie or Juliana
Police are trying to piece together a timeline of events and are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry and are trying to establish if she was attacked by a stranger or someone who knew her
Friends criticised police saying officers only treated her disappearance as ‘medium risk’ when she was first reported missing, despite it being out of character.
But officers said the report was taken very seriously from the outset.
Her friend Laszlo Judit posted several pictures on Facebook of the heavily tattooed barmaid smiling with friends.
Miss Tudos, who is from Moscow, failed to show up for work at 4pm on Boxing Day at the World’s End pub in Camden
She wrote: ‘Juliana Lilith Tudos has gone missing on the 24th of December 8pm, latest time of any kind of interaction we know about was with me saying that she was gonna come back to my place to spend Christmas together. She hasn’t been online, her phone is off and she’s not at home, hasn’t showed up for work. Our friend at the police said we have to wait 72 hours to report it.’
Hours later, she added: ‘Finished with the police, normally for adults the risk is low but they put this one in medium risk since it’s a highly unusual behaviour.’
Miss Tudos’s body was found by a member of the public around 4.30pm on Wednesday. A post-mortem examination last night established how she was killed. No arrests have been made.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall said: ‘Iuliana’s body was discovered in an outbuilding next to a sports pitch. We believe that she may have been attacked on Christmas Eve, but we want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in that part of Finsbury Park over the Christmas period.
‘We are still trying to piece together a timeline of events and are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry as regards to a motive.’
Det Chief Insp Wall added: ‘Our inquiries from CCTV footage have now ascertained that Iuliana was seen on the periphery of the park on Christmas Eve, shortly after 20.20 hrs.
‘We want to hear from anyone who saw, had contact with, or heard from Iuliana after this time.
‘We’d also like to hear from anybody who saw anything suspicious within the park over the Christmas period.’
The Metropolitan Police said extra officers have been deployed in the area to try to help reassure the community.
Anyone with information is asked to call the dedicated incident room on 0208 785 8244, tweet @MetCC or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
‘Julie’ was due to meet them at a friend’s home in Enfield, north-east London, later that evening before spending Christmas Day there, but never arrived
Police found Ms Tudos in the heart of Finsbury park three days after. Pictured are forensics officers investigating the crime scene
A forensics officer photographs a discarded item of clothing left on the grass as they hunt for her killer
Police said Miss Tudos was wearing glasses and was carrying a black and white fabric bag with ‘Fighting against Animal Testing’ written on it
The World’s End pub in Camden, north London where Ms Tudos worked as a barmaid
Fears grew after Miss Tudos, who is from Moscow, failed to show up for work at 4pm on Boxing Day at the World’s End pub in Camden – she lay undiscovered in a park for three days