A RETIRED British woman was allegedly beaten to death by her toyboy lover with a spade he then used to dig her grave.
Former legal secretary Tina Eyre, 62, was found dead in a pool of blood in a barn at her home in Bulgaria after neighbours became worried about her.
She had not been seen for several days and had not responded to phone calls from the local post mistress, who alerted the local mayor.
Two other Brit expats who lived nearby were asked to check on Tina – but when they arrived they found a 26-year-old Bulgarian Roma gypsy digging a hole in her garden, reports the Mail.
When questioned, he said that the owner had asked him to look after her three dogs.
Soon after, however, he ran off through neighbouring gardens, and Tina’s body was found during a search of her property in Veliko Tarnovo.
It is believed he was digging her grave, according to police reports, and was using the same spade he had killed her with to dig with.
Cops arrested him during a house to house search after being given a photo of him by one of the expats who went to check on Tina.
Mayor Hristo Hristov said he helped with the arrest alongside local chief of police, Petar Petrov.
He told reporters: “It was clear that he was still in the village.
“We tied some things together and went looking for ‘Grandpa Georgia’, who we thought might know this person. Petar, the experienced inspector, immediately realized that Grandpa Georgi had guests.”
“Upon entering, I saw him lying on the ground with the Petar’s knee on his back.”
The suspect, from neighbouring village Gorna Oryahovitsai, had reportedly been seen visiting Tina, known as Roxanne, in the past but hadn’t been seen for around a year.
He was handed over to criminal investigators from Veliko Tarnovo and, according to local news reports, he has admitted to murder and said he acted out of “jealousy”.
Tina originally lived in Gloucester and moved to Bulgaria after a 17-year career working for the law firm Clifford Chance, according to her LinkedIn page.
She lived alone in the village for four years, and looked after dogs and pigs on the farm.
In a recent post on LinkedIn, Tina wrote she was “enjoying life”.
Tina’s brother, Dean, has said he is angry the family had not been contacted by the Foreign Office about his sister’s death.
He said: “We haven’t been told a thing by the Government, we were told the news by my sister’s friends in Bulgaria.”
A spokesman from the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman following her tragic death in Bulgaria, and are in contact with the Bulgarian authorities.”
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