Tourist reportedly suspected of murdering her family in Iceland is arrested

A French tourist in her 60s has been arrested in Iceland suspected of murdering her daughter and husband while the three were vacationing in the country, Icelandic media reported.

The husband and daughter were found dead at an upscale hotel in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik on Saturday morning, while the woman was found alive with stab injuries, Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported late Saturday.

The two deceased also had “injuries, including stab injuries, but there will be a further investigation that will reveal what kind of injuries are involved,” Reykjavik police officer Aevar Palmi Palmason told RUV.

RUV reported that the bodies were found on the fourth floor of the Edition Hotel and the group was due to leave Saturday.

Icelandic police were unavailable to comment Sunday on the investigation, and have yet to confirm that the suspect was related to the victims.

Icelandic media have provided no details about the tourists’ identities.

Police have only confirmed in a statement that the Reykjavik district court on Saturday remanded the woman in custody until June 20, “in connection with (a police) investigation into the deaths of two French tourists at a hotel in the city center.”

“The woman who is detained was traveling with those who died when the case arose,” the statement said.

In a previous statement, police said two foreign tourists were found dead in the hotel at about 8:00 a.m. o’clock, and a third person, also a tourist, was also at the scene and was injured.

“Many details are unclear as the investigation is in its early stages,” police said.

Murders and deadly violence are rare in Iceland, with the country regularly ranked at the top of the Global Peace Index thanks to its low crime rates, though gang crime has been on the rise in recent years.  

According to Statista, Iceland has one of the lowest murder rates in Europe — only two persons were killed on the island in 2021.

In 2017, the normally peaceful Iceland was shocked when a 20-year-old woman was found murdered on the beach.