A WOMAN found stabbed to death in a Bournemouth flat has been named as 34-year-old Stela Domador.

Miss Domador, who worked for a Bournemouth bank, fled Venezuela three years ago in search of a better life.

But her body was discovered in a flat in Richmond Gardens in the early hours of Sunday morning. She had been repeatedly stabbed.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, her brother, Alberto, told how she moved to Bournemouth due to security issues in her native Venezuela.

The South American country is suffering an economic and political crisis with food shortages and soaring crime rates.

Mr Domador, who moved to Florida shortly after his sister’s move to the UK, said: “There was no security for us in Venezuela - we were all looking for a new life and she left first.

“She told us how she loved it in Bournemouth and had no fear in the streets, even when walking home late at night.

“We just can’t believe this has happened. She was happy all the time. She was a girl who was always smiling and was loved by everybody.”

Mr Domador said their remaining three siblings live in Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.

“We can’t believe this has happened. We don’t know anything about the circumstances. All we’ve been told is that she was stabbed.”

He said a cousin who lives in London will be visiting Bournemouth on behalf of their family in a bid to find out what happened.

Police were called to Richmond Hill at 5am on Sunday after paramedics treated a man for stab wounds to the leg. Their inquiries led them to a flat in Richmond Gardens where Miss Domador was found dead.

The injured man, who is 20-years-old and from Bournemouth, was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to hospital.

A cordon surrounded the entrance to flats 1-9, Mount Heatherbank yesterday. Detectives are urging anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the area of Richmond Hill, Richmond Gardens and Dalkeith Lane steps between 7.30pm on Saturday and 5am on Sunday to get in touch.