Boyfriend finds American artist Ashley Olsen ‘strangled’ in Florence apartment

Italy"s expat community have expressed hope the case won"t tu into another Amanda Knox-style legal saga.

Police opened a murder investigation after 35-year-old Ashley Olsen was found dead, her neck bruised and scratched, in her Florence apartment on Saturday.

Authorities questioned Olsen"s boyfriend, a local artist, but said they have no suspects so far.

But in a new twist Olsen hinted before her death that she was being stalked. She posted two images on her Instagram page which were taken by someone else. It is unclear how she obtained the photos or who took them.

She captioned one of the photo"s with ‘I have a #stalker #stalkeralert #creeperintheback #creeperpic #weirdsh-t #scoutthebeagle.

She captioned the other photo ‘#f--koff #crepper #santospirito # oltrao # firenze"

According to Italian media, her boyfriend became worried when he didn"t hear from Olsen for a few days after they fought and asked the apartment"s owner to open the door.

"What happened in Florence is getting the maximum attention to find out what it"s all about,” Italy"s police chief, Alessandro Pansa, said.

Artistic bent ... Olsen reportedly loved art and had organised events connected to the art world. Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied

Meanwhile, friends and fellow expats expressed horror at the slaying of a woman known around Florence for her beloved beagle, Scout, and said they hoped her killer would be found quickly. Flowers were left at her doorstep.

"I can"t imagine a person who would hurt her. She is a gentle, a kind, a beautiful, friendly, lovely girl and it"s an awful shock,” Amy, a friend who only gave her first name, told AP.

"We"ve got a great community here of people and everyone loved her.”

Friends and other expats expressed hope that the case wouldn"t end up repeating the flawed, flip-flopping investigation into the last high-profile murder case of a foreigner living in Italy, that of Meredith Kercher.

The British student was studying in the Umbrian city of Perugia when she was found dead in 2007.

Knox, Kercher"s American roommate, and her then-boyfriend were at first convicted of the murder, then acquitted, convicted again on appeal and finally acquitted for good when Italy"s supreme court last year definitively exonerated them.

Another man was convicted and is serving a 16-year sentence.

"I would hope for her sake that this investigation is more clear,” said Georgette Jupe, who writes the "Girl in Florence” blog and knew Olsen casually, primarily because they both had beagles and lived near one another in Florence"s Santo Spirito neighbourhood.

Discovery ... Olsen"s boyfriend reportedly found the body. Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied

Jupe said Olsen was involved in fashion and had moved a few years ago to Florence, where her father was also a professor.

Olsen"s Facebook page is full of photos of her and Scout, including on the steps of the Santo Spirito church on the lovely piazza of the same name that is the heart of the "Oltrao” neighbourhood of the Tuscan city.

"She always with her dog, always sitting on steps of Santo Spirito with friends,” Jupe said in a phone interview.

TV and local newspaper accounts said Olsen was identified by her father, who reportedly teaches at a Florence school. Olsen moved to Florence several years ago to be near her father, the New York Daily News reported.