A crowdfunding appeal in memory of a pub worker who was murdered in a London park on Christmas Eve has passed £13,000.
The campaign to raise money for a funeral for Iuliana Tudos, 22, reached its original £4,000 target within 11 hours and by Saturday afternoon had raised more than three times that amount.
Tudos, who also called herself Julie, was found dead in Finsbury Park, near her north London home, on Wednesday afternoon, having gone missing on December 24.
She had been stabbed in the abdomen and suffered a head injury.
More than 800 people have so far donated to the appeal, including people who met her at Camden Underworld, the north London rock pub and club where she worked.
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...”
The GoFundMe page was set up by Krystyna Rymarczyk, who wrote: “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.”
Tudos, who police said was of Russian and Greek origin, was last seen by friends at around 8pm on December 24 when she headed for a bus home from Camden.
She was due to meet them at another friend’s home in Enfield, north London, later that evening before spending Christmas Day there, but never arrived.
Police said CCTV footage showed her on the periphery of the park shortly after 8.20pm.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wall, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said Tudos body was found in a disused building in the area of the park near the junction of Green Lanes and Endymion Road, “and we believe that she was attacked where she was found”.
Wall said police had been in touch with Tudos’ family who are currently living abroad, “and they are naturally devastated, as are her close network of friends in the UK”.
No arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, Camden bar The World’s End paid tribute to Tudos who it described as “bright and caring”.
In a post on Facebook the bar’s staff wrote: |As we are sure everyone is now aware, words cannot express the sadness we feel at the news of the death of Iuliana Tudos.
“Julie, as she is known by us, was well loved by everyone in the greater Camden community and was a bright and caring member of our World’s End family.
“We are all shocked by the events over the last few days and everyone at the World’s End is grieving for the loss of our friend who will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Julie’s family at this incredibly sad time.”
Wall said police would like to hear from “anyone who saw, had contact with, or heard from” Tudos after she was last seen on CCTV.
“We’d also like to hear from anybody who saw anything suspicious within the park over the Christmas period.”
Wall said Tudos friends and family are “desperate for any information that can help us find out what happened to her, so I would urge anyone with information to please contact us as soon as possible”.
Anyone with information is urged to call the dedicated incident room on 020 8785 8244, tweet @MetCC or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.