The mother of the Hungarian woman found brutally murdered and left in a suitcase has spoken of her grief.

The body of Alexandra Kovacs, 25, was found dumped in a suitcase in woods running alongside Dollis Brook in Thornfield Avenue, Mill Hill, in July this year.

Alexandra, who was also known as Szandi and Szandika, had been living in the NW7 area and worked as a production assistant.

She supported her mother Rita Horváth and her eight-year-old brother financially while living in London as Ms Horváth raised her son alone in Hungary.

But in July, Ms Horváth got a call from her daughter’s friend, informing her Alexandra was missing.

She said: “I was shocked, I couldn’t imagine what had happened to her.

“It was Saturday. My daughter’s friend called me to tell me that Szandi was missing and needs authorisation from me to go to the police.

“Next Monday, a police officer called me, saying that they found a body in a park. On the following day after the dissection they confirmed that the body in the suitcase was Szandi’s body. I broke down.”

In August, Ms Horváth travelled to London, where she visited her daughter’s home in the NW7 area before going to the park where her Alexandra was discovered. She left flowers at both places.

She said: “My first trip was to my daughter’s house, because I wanted to see the place where she had lived. The pain was terrible but I calmed down a little when I saw she lived in a decent place. I couldn’t see her room because it was closed off by the police.

“My daughter’s housemates told me they feel guilty because that night they heard a scream but they couldn’t recognise what it was. They went back to sleep. If my daughter screamed one more time, maybe she would be alive now.”

Although advised not to see the body, Ms Horváth insisted on seeing her daughter, but was only given a photo to identify her.

“My heart stopped when I saw her,” she said. “Her body was only a skeleton. I don’t know what happened to her. My daughter had no lips, no nose. I was able to identify her only by the shape of her eyes. Her body was decomposed already in four weeks.

“My son knows what happened with his sister. He misses Szandi, but he still believes that one day our beloved will step through the door and everything will be ok. Sometimes I feel I can’t live without my daughter. Only my son keeps me alive, I have to raise him.”

Alexandra was buried in Hungary, next to her grandfather.

Laszlo Gyarmati, 29, of Station Road, Finchley, has been charged with Alexandra’s murder and was remanded in custody at his most recent court hearing in July.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on October 14.