Body of Polish woman murdered in Ecuador to be brought home for autopsy

Polish prosecutors will bring home the body of Monika Silva Veras, also known as Monika Koniuszek, after Ecuadorian authorities confirmed they were ready to release it.

Specialists at the Medical University of Gdańsk will conduct an autopsy requested by Poland’s prosecution service. Prosecutor Daniel Brodowski said investigators consulted experts before deciding that a second examination would be useful. Poland will cover the cost of transporting the body through a specialist company under sanitary requirements.

The Ecuadorian autopsy has already produced results that Polish prosecutors regard highly. Brodowski said those findings indicate that Silva Veras was murdered, but prosecutors have not disclosed detailed findings about the mechanism of her death.

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In carrying out procedural activities in this case, we received official information from Ecuador that they are ready to release the body of the deceased. We therefore requested that the body be released to us, the Polish prosecution service, so that we could conduct our own autopsy.

Silva Veras, a Polish social and anti-corruption activist who had lived in Ecuador for years, was found dead in June at her home in Montañita, in the southwestern province of Santa Elena. She had reported alleged corruption involving local authorities, including irregularities in the sale of municipal land, and had said for months that she was receiving threats and feared for her life.

Investigators in Olsztyn remain in contact with their Ecuadorian counterparts. The two sides have held a videoconference, and Ecuador has provided Polish prosecutors with extensive investigative materials. Those documents are now being translated from Spanish. Poland’s consul in Peru, Adam Bożko, has helped with contacts between the two countries.

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We already have the results of the autopsy conducted in Ecuador. We rate the materials we received in this regard highly.