The body of a British student was found in the central Italian city of Perugia on Friday with a deep wound to the throat, Italian police said.
The unidentified woman was said to be in her early twenties.
Neighbours found her cellphone in their garden and police used it to find the house she shared with three other girls.
They broke down the door and found her partially clothed body under her bed, covered by a duvet.
The student had been studying at Perugia University for the last three months, police said.
They said the girl - who came to Italy on the European Union's Erasmus exchange programme - was last seen leaving a party in the early hours of Friday morning.
Police have launched a murder hunt in the Umbrian city, which welcomes thousands of Italian-language students each year.
