Prosecutors Say Influencer Stefanie Pieper May Have Been Buried Alive After Found Dead in Suitcase

Prosecutors have a new theory about the death of beauty influencer Stefanie Pieper.

Pieper’s autopsy report stated that the content creator died as a result of strangulation to her neck, according to a Wednesday, March 18, report from German outlet Bild. Forensic pathologists also found Pieper suffered from “severe facial injuries,” which could have been caused by either punches or being transported in the suitcase. Pieper’s time of death remains unclear.

A spokesperson for the Graz Public Prosecutor’s Office told the outlet that investigators are not ruling out the theory that Pieper was alive when placed in the suitcase.

“The autopsy could not definitively determine when the young woman died,” the spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday translated by Us Weekly. “It is entirely possible that she was still alive when she was placed in the suitcase. However, it is equally possible that she was killed by strangulation beforehand.”

News broke in November 2025 that Pieper had gone missing after attending a holiday party. Her ex-boyfriend was a suspect in her disappearance after Austrian news outlets reported that some of Pieper’s neighbors heard arguing and saw her ex before she disappeared.

“Subsequent investigations led to the suspicion that the woman’s 31-year-old ex-boyfriend might be connected to her disappearance,” Styrian State Police said in a statement at the time. “The man is believed to have traveled to Slovenia several times in his car. He could not be contacted by the investigating police.”

German newspaper Kronen Zeitung reported at that time that Pieper’s ex was apprehended in Slovenia. The ex was found after police responded to a call that “a car had caught fire in the parking lot of a casino near the border” in Šentilj.

“This was the 31-year-old man’s car,” police said at the time. “He was found in the immediate vicinity of the burning vehicle and arrested by the Slovenian police. Extradition to Austria has been requested.”

After being taken into custody, he reportedly confessed to strangling Pieper. The man led authorities to her body in a nearby forest where her remains were hidden inside a suitcase. Pieper was 31.

Pieper’s ex is currently in pretrial detention in Austria. His trial is scheduled for later this year, per Bild. He faces life in prison if convicted.

Pieper was best known for being an influencer, makeup artist and aspiring singer in Austria. She amassed more than 47,000 followers via Instagram sharing her go-to beauty tips and tricks.