DomRep appoints panel to probe diplomat's killing

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Four high-ranking justice officials have been appointed to a special commission in the Dominican Republic that will investigate the killing of a Taiwanese diplomat found beaten and stabbed in her apartment, chief prosecutor Radhames Jimenez said Wednesday.

Police discovered the body of Julia Ou, 55, on Tuesday morning after she did not show up to work at Taiwan's embassy. No one has been arrested, and police and embassy officials said they did not yet have a motive for the killing. There were no signs of a break-in at the apartment.

Ou oversaw the embassy's office of overseas affairs and lived alone.

"She was very hard working," embassy spokesman Domingo Ja told The Associated Press. "She led a very simple, unassuming life. She would go straight home from work."

Ou, who was not married and did not have children, arrived in the Dominican Republic in January 2011 for a two-year assignment. In a previous tour in Latin America, she worked at Taiwan's embassy in Guatemala from 2000 to 2006. She had worked for the Taiwanese government since 1987.