Peru Probes Killing of Italian Missionary

Peruvian police have opened an investigation into the murder of an Italian missionary in the country's north, in a crime Pope Francis described as an "unjustifiable episode of violence."

Nadia de Munari, 50, died in hospital on Saturday from injuries sustained in an attack on April 21 at a youth center in Nuevo Chimbote, some 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) north of Lima, where she lived and worked.

She was attacked with a machete and hammer while sleeping in her room on the third floor of a home she shared with other people, and was found the next morning.

Pope Francis, in a telegram to the bishop of Chimbote, condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the missionary's loved ones, according to the Vatican.

A funeral service was held for De Munari on Wednesday, and her remains will be sent to Italy.