US embassy cable - 05HARARE95

UNCLAS HARARE 000095 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/OPO, DS/IP/ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC 
SUBJECT: STABBING DEATH OF SWEDISH NATIONAL WORKING FOR 
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) IN HARARE 
 
 
1. On January 10 between 1530 and 1730 hours, a Swedish 
national named Lisa Veron who worked for WHO was stabbed to 
death.  The incident occurred in the Mount Pleasant 
neighborhood which is a suburb of the city of Harare.  While 
many facts are still being closely held by the Zimbabwe 
Republic Police (ZRP), contacts within the ZRP have revealed 
the following information.  Preliminary findings indicate 
that Mrs. Veron was stabbed seven times with a screw driver 
or similar type instrument.  According to ZRP sources, the 
stabbing is believed to have occurred inside of her personal 
vehicle.  While motivation for the stabbing has not been 
established, police sources did indicate that several 
personal items of Mrs. Veron were missing from the vehicle. 
No further information is available at this time. 
 
2. Note that the Mount Pleasant neighborhood where this 
incident occurred contains several Embassy residences, 
contains shops which Embassy employees frequent and is part 
of the diplomatic quarter.  The RSO has provided details of 
the incident to the Embassy community and re-issued the 
safety notices regarding vehicular and residential security 
practices. 
 
3. The RSO's office will continue to follow this incident and 
report Septel should any significant developments occur. 
DELL