Press freedom groups have expressed their shock over the rape and brutal murder of a Bulgarian TV journalist whose last aired report had been about the arrest of two investigative reporters.

Victoria Marinova’s body was found at about midday on Saturday near a river bank in the town of Ruse, northern Bulgaria. She had been raped, beaten and strangled to death, according to local media reports.

Marinova, 30, worked as an administrative director for the TVN local television network. She had just started her own news talk show called “Detector”, broadcast on Facebook on 1 October.