A German husband who allegedly confiscated the ID documents of his beautiful Russian wife and who used to beat her has been accused of murdering her and cutting up her body before dumping it in a suitcase in a canal.

Hundreds joined in the search for beautiful mother-of-one Yekaterina Baumann, 32, when her worried mother in Russia reported that she was missing, and feared the worst.

And now her body has been found, a month later, after the suitcase with her dismembered remains was spotted on the banks of the River Weser, resulting in her husband’s arrest.

Before she vanished, her husband is alleged to have taken her identification documents and repeatedly beaten her.

Originally from Russia’s cultural capital Saint Petersburg, Yekaterina was last heard from by a friend, with whom she had a video call in early February.

She reportedly told her friend that she was leaving her husband, identified as IT expert Walter B.

However, she never had the opportunity to do so, as she vanished soon thereafter.

It has also been reported that she was in the midst of a EUR-500,000 (GBP-414,000) divorce from him.

A large team of police officers had been looking for Yekaterina since 4th February. They even used sniffer dogs, but they did not find anything for weeks.

The suitcase with her dismembered body parts was found on the banks of the River Weser, near the port city of Bremerhaven, on Germany’s north-east coast, on 1st March.

The Bremerhaven police released a statement obtained by Newsflash that said that “a suitcase was discovered and recovered directly on the waterfront of the Weser near the Atlantic Hotel Sail City in Bremerhaven. The witness immediately informed the police.”

The police also said that they had arrested her husband, reporting: “After Ekaterina Baumann was found, the combined evidence and clues led to an arrest warrant being issued against the young woman’s husband. This was announced today [Wednesday, 2nd March] by the Bremerhaven district court after an application by the Bremerhaven public prosecutor.”

The victim’s mother Svetlana, who lives in Saint Petersburg, had reportedly suspected that something was wrong.

She said: “My daughter was with this man for 12 years. But a year and a half ago, there were only arguments in the marriage. He hit her multiple times.”

She added: “He kept my daughter in isolation. He took away her ID and bank cards, she wasn’t allowed to meet anyone. All she wanted was to get away.”

A large group of volunteers, mainly made up of Russian nationals, had formed on the Internet in a bid to help find the missing woman.

Groups of volunteers had put up posters at bus stops in the hope that she would be found alive.

Her remains will be examined by forensic scientists, and the police said that they were treating the case as a homicide.

Her widower is currently in custody and faces a life sentence if convicted of her murder.

He is quoted as having told German daily Bild over the phone: “The press? No, thank you. I don’t remember anything…”

The couple’s daughter is reportedly currently in state care.