Kirill Belorusov (pictured) is being held in Estonia capital Tallinn over the murder of his former girlfriend, Laureline Garcia-Bertaux
The ex-boyfriend arrested over the murder of PR girl Laureline Garcia-Bertaux celebrated his birthday with friends in Estonia two days after her body was discovered in a shallow grave.
Kirill Belorusov, 32, partied at a bar in the Estonian capital of Tallinn last Friday, one of his pals told MailOnline.
The body of Laureline, 34, was found at her home near Kew Gardens in West London on March 6.
A post-mortem examination found she died from injuries ‘consistent with compression of the neck’.
Today, the Metropolitan Police are expected to begin extradition proceedings to bring him back to the UK.
According to Ian Syalik, Belorusov seemed ‘completely normal’ without any worries during the drink celebrations for his birthday.
He told MailOnline: ‘He mentioned nothing about his ex-girlfriend, I never even knew of her until now.
The body of Laureline (pictured), 34, originally from Corsica, was found buried in a shallow grave in the back garden of her flat in Kew, west London, on March 6, having been strangled
Belorusov (pictured), a barman living in London, is the son of an Estonian police officer who has previously served the country’s navy. He separated from PR girl Laureline 18 months ago
Belorusov (pictured) is being held by police in the Estonian capital Tallinn while UK authorities attempt to extradite the barman to quiz him over the killing of his former partner
‘He didn’t even say why he was back from London, I thought it was because of his birthday.
‘Myself and a few others met him in Tallinn after work last Friday, it wasn’t a big party just a few drinks to celebrate.
‘But he seemed completely normal. Although I wasn’t really close to him, this is still a big shock.’
Belorusov is the son of an Estonian police officer, he grew up in the capital and served in the country’s navy, military unit Eesti Merevagi.
He moved to the UK around 10 years ago and worked as a barman at the Egg Nightclub near King’s Cross in central London.
He lived at a number of addresses with Laureline before the couple separated in April and she moved into the ground floor flat where her body was found.
Belorusov was arrested by local officers at an address in Tallinn at 12.25 on Wednesday after the Met police issued a European arrest warrant.
The Met said he was being held at an Estonian police station prior to commencement of extradition proceedings.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said on Wednesday: ‘Met homicide detectives have been working with Eurojust in the Hague and police colleagues in Europol to trace and detain the man sought in connection with the investigation.
Laureline had been reported missing after she did not arrive for work at the public relations company Golin the previous day
Laureline’s mother Frédérique Bertaux (pictured) updated her Facebook profile picture in the early hours of Saturday to display a photograph of her with her daughter
Laureline’s remains were discovered on March 6 in the garden of her home address in Darell Road, west London (pictured) where she had lived since April last year
Forensic teams have been working in the back garden of the property where Laureline’s body was discovered. She had been seen on CCTV at a Sainsbury’s near her home on Saturday night
‘The 32-year-old man was detained at an address in Tallinn, Estonia and is being held in an Estonian Police Station prior to extradition proceedings commencing.
‘A murder investigation led by Detectives from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command continues apace.’
Miss Garcia-Bertaux, a film producer originally from France, was reported missing after she failed to turn up for work at a PR agency on Tuesday, March 5.
Her body was found by police the following day in the back garden of her £400,000 ground-floor flat on a tree-lined road in the wealthy suburb of Kew, south-west London.
Officers have obtained CCTV showing her shopping with a man at a Sainsbury’s store near her home on Saturday March 2.
They visited an Argos concession store within the supermarket before shopping for groceries.
Ms Garcia-Bertaux’s family, some of whom have travelled to London, are not making any comment on the arrest.
Belorusov (pictured) celebrated his birthday with friends in Tallinn, Estonia, on March 8, two days after the body of his ex-girlfriend was found in a shallow grave at her west London flat
According to Ian Syalik, Belorusov seemed ‘completely normal’ without any worries during the drink celebrations for his birthday.
Her mother Frédérique Bertaux updated her Facebook profile picture in the early hours of Saturday to display a photograph of her with her daughter.
After moving to Britain in 2009, Miss Garcia-Bertaux graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and went onto help produce films starring Dame Joan Collins and Sheridan Smith. She hoped to become a director and screenwriter and also ran a lifestyle blog.
Dame Joan Collins, who worked with her on Gerry, paid tribute, saying: ‘I am shocked by the horrifying news of the murder of Laureline. She was passionate about film and was instrumental in bringing together my latest short film.’
Jonathan Hughes, chief executive of public relations company Golin where she had worked since January, said: ‘On behalf of everyone at Golin I want to express our deepest sympathies to Laureline’s family and friends.
‘We are all still very shocked by this senseless and tragic news and we continue to do everything we can to support her family, the police and our team as the investigation evolves
‘Laureline was a wonderfully creative, caring and charismatic woman, full of energy and joie de vivre. That is the way she will always remembered by me and every one of her colleagues.’
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