The woman found dead at a Camps Bay hotel in Cape Town on Wednesday is believed to have been strangled.

This according to a family member of murdered American Gabriella Kabrins Alban.

A Guatemalan man, understood to be her boyfriend, appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on a murder charge on Friday.

He was remanded in custody until his second appearance next week.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntzabalalila confirmed the suspect was able to speak English, as he had spoken to the front desk assistant when he had checked in at the hotel.

The body of the 39-year-old victim was found in a hotel room at the Camps Bay Retreat in Chilworth Road. News24