Croatian woman accused of keeping murdered sister in freezer for 18 years pictured arriving at court

A woman suspected of murdering her own sister and keeping her in a freezer for 18 years has today appeared in court.

Smiljana Srnec, 45, was pictured arriving at a courthouse in Varazdin, northern Croatia, in a police van.

A one month's detention order was placed on the woman, who was spotted entering court in a hooded black puffer jacket and white trainers.

Smiljana Srnec (pictured) arrives at a courthouse in Varazdin, in the north of Croatia, on suspicion that she murdered her sister before she was declared missing in 2005

Srnec was seen wearing a hooded black puffer jacket and white trainers as she walked into court under police escort

The news came as hundreds attended the funeral on Wednesday for the missing woman, Jasmina Dominic, in her village of Palovec, northeast of Croatia's capital Zagreb.

Ms Dominic was reported missing in 2005 but was last seen in 2000 when she was 23 years old.

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Local reports said a family member found her body Saturday in a freezer in the Dominic family home in Palovec.

The court in the northern town of Varazdin said the sister, Smiljana Srnec, must remain in detention because she could influence witnesses or flee during the investigation.

Jasmina Dominic went missing in 2000 at the age of 23, but her family didn't report her missing until 2005

Police said when they investigated the missing person case back in 2005, her family misled them by claiming that Dominic was living abroad.

Croatian media reported an autopsy showed that Dominic had suffered at least two blows in the head with a blunt instrument.

Reports suggest police found the body of Ms Dominic wrapped in cellophane, after a power outage caused the corpse to begin to smell.

The case has shocked Croatia, with many wondering how it was possible that the family had lived for so long with a body hidden in the house.

According to Croatian news website 24sata, police found the body wrapped in cellophane after a power outage caused the corpse to begin to smell.

Smiljana Srnec, 45, was detained in the case and a post-mortem examination is being conducted, police said.

Police spokesman Nenad Risak said the family had told police in the past that Ms Dominic was living abroad.

The case has shocked Croatia, with many wondering how it was possible that the family had lived for so long with a body hidden in the house.

'They (family) turned us in other directions,' Mr Risak said of the initial investigation into Ms Dominic's disappearance.

'We checked the house (during the investigation)... but didn't have information that anything could have happened at home.'

Smiljana Srnec, 45, was detained in the case and a post-mortem examination is being conducted

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