WHAT HAPPENED?

American Diplomat Found Dead in Madagascar, Suspect in Custody

Suspect reportedly caught “fleeing from the house” of unnamed Foreign Service officer.

A suspect has been detained after an American diplomat serving in Madagascar was found dead at home over the weekend, the U.S. State Department said Monday. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said a joint investigation between U.S. and Malagasy authorities is underway in Antananarivo, the capital of the African country. “Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and to the U.S. Embassy Antananarivo community,” she said in a statement. The diplomat was identified only as a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and no further details were given on his or her death. Herilalatiana Andrianarisaona, a spokesperson for the Antananarivo police, told Agence France-Presse that neighbors and the diplomat’s private security guards had alerted local police to the fact that something was amiss. The suspect was “caught trying to jump the perimeter fence fleeing from the house,” Andrianarisaona said.