Jan Bennett
Jan Bennet had only recently had moved to Bulgaria with her husband before she was killed Facebook

A 67-year-old woman was allegedly raped, killed and then set on fire after she was attacked while walking her dogs in near the Bulgarian village she had called home for just three months. Jan Bennett had only recently had moved to the area near the village of Malomir with her disabled husband, roughly 200 miles to the east of the country's capital, Sofia.

A local man identified as Ivan Georgiev, 40, was arrested on 1 August at a vineyard where he worked after police found his DNA at the scene, the Daily Express reported.

The Foreign Office has confirmed Bennett's death adding that the government department was liaising with Bulgarian authorities and had met with her the family to provide support at this difficult time.

The British pensioner's husband has been admitted to a local hospital to be treated for shock. Her friend, restaurateur Karin Dalbak, told the Express: "You coped with life without complaint even when times were difficult. Truly a beautiful lady with a heart of gold. The world is a poorer place without you Jan."