Brazilian police have arrested the nextdoor neighbour of Italian woman Pamela Canzonieri, who was murdered on the tourist island of Tinhare, local reports said on Thursday.
Police did not confirm the suspect's identity but said he had convictions for drug traffficking.
Canzonieri, 39, was found dead a week ago at her home in the village of Morro di Paolo on the palm-fringed holiday island located in Brazil's eastern coastal state of Bahia.
An autopsy confirmed the cause of Canzonieri's death was manual strangulation.
Prosecutors in Rome have also opened an investigation into Canzonieri's murder.
Brazilian authorities have released Canzonieri's corpse for repatriation and it was due to arrive in Italy on Friday.
A native of the Sicilian city of Ragusa, Canzonieri had spent the last five summers on Tinhare, where she worked as a waitress and rented a house.
