Suspect Says Dead Expat Treated Him 'Like a Dog'

The man accused of killing American expatriate Ashley Ann Olsen says he last saw her alive. His lawyer, Antonio Voce, says Cheik Tidiane Diaw met Olsen at a nightclub, then visited her apartment in the early hours of Jan. 8 where the pair had consensual sex while drunk and high on cocaine. Voce says Olsen eventually asked the Senegalese migrant to leave, fearing her boyfriend would show up, and pushed him toward the door, reports NBC News. Angry that she was treating him "like a dog," Diaw punched Olsen in the back of the head or neck, Voce says, per the Guardian and Telegraph. Voce suspects Olsen fractured her skull at some point during the resulting shoving match. Diaw allegedly told police he pushed Olsen to the ground, causing her to hit her head.

Voce says Diaw never actually strangled Olsen, though Diaw reportedly told police he did pick her up by her neck to put her on the bed. Prosecutor Giuseppe Creazzo believes Diaw may have unintentionally strangled Olsen, perhaps while trying to revive her after she hit her head, reports the Daily Beast. However, when Diaw left, Voce says Olsen was on the bed moaning that she didn't feel well. "He did not want to kill her or hurt her," he says. Diaw is believed to have illegally joined his brother in Italy recently, and made money handing out nightclub flyers. He is now charged with aggravated murder. A funeral for Olsen is scheduled for Friday. "She was a beautiful and creative young woman with a happy, exuberant and generous soul," her father says. "We are heartbroken that she was taken from us." (More Ashley Ann Olsen stories.)