A Russian model found dead after a 60-foot fall from her hotel balcony is the centre of a baffling mystery over whether she fell or was pushed.

Tragic Sofia Olifrenko, 24, died instantly after the plunge from her fifth-floor room in Istanbul, Turkey, on 18th July.

A Turkish man – who had arrived with her – was taken into custody by local police but later released.

CCTV footage shot earlier in the day shows the young model staggering down a pathway, holding onto a wall for support.

The Turkish man – named only as F. K. in local media – said in his police statement: “I don’t know the woman’s name, we met on the street. She was crying.

“I took her to her hotel room.”

He claimed that she appeared to be very drunk and could barely walk.

Local media reported that Sofia had checked into the hotel under the false name of Alexandra V.

She had married Romanian male model Istvan Sarkozy in February.

Istvan told how his wife had arrived in Istanbul on 9th May for modelling work, but he had lost all contact with her three days before her death.

Turkish media reported that Sofia might have had problems with her husband because she thought he was cheating on her.

They also reported that the young woman had mental health issues and was using antidepressants.

But Istvan denied this, claiming that she did not use drugs or alcohol during the time they were together.

He said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “We lived in peace and quiet.”

Istvan pointed the finger of blame at Star Models Istanbul.

He said: “My wife went to work as a model at the mentioned agency, where she had also worked in May 2021, so the agency is to blame for everything that happened.

“The agency, instead of posting about Sofia, deleted pictures of her. Can you believe how heartless these people are?”

After travelling to Istanbul to identify Sofia’s body at the morgue, he returned home to Oradea, Romania, “with a great pain in my soul”.

At the time of reporting, Sofia’s body was due to be repatriated to Russia at her family’s request.

At the time of reporting, it was unclear if Sofia’s death was a suicide or if she was killed.

Istvan said: “She was a wonderful person, full of life and always smiling.”