Jacky Sutton was a seasoned international aid worker who was careful of her personal security and would never have encountered money troubles while travelling, according to a close friend, let alone take her own life.
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Ms Sutton was found dead at Ataturk airport in Istanbul on Saturday on a layover from London to Iraq amid circumstances her friends and family have described as suspicious.
Turkish media have published video they say was taken at Ataturk airport on Saturday, showing Ms Sutton going through customs and walking through airport areas by herself.
HerCanberra website editor Amanda Whitley said she had received a long email from Ms Sutton from Erbil, northern Iraq, in June, in which she spoken of her need to stay off social media while she worked as the Iraq director for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
"I won't be posting on FB too much because there is no point in drawing attention to myself and my colleagues," wrote Ms Sutton, who contributed to HerCanberra while living in the Australian capital.
Ms Whitley said Ms Sutton had developed a well-honed sense of personal security after years of working on the front line and in conflict zones and was aware she may have been targeted by jihadists due to her profile.
The British journalist had worked for the BBC, Vatican Radio and contributed to the ABC website The Drum. Her career also took her to Canada, Eritrea (where she helped start an English language newspaper) and UNESCO.
Her email from Erbil said "I'm in a hotel at the moment – a low-key one with hardly any guests. The accommodation that had been prepared was basically one room and a bathroom above the office with only one door in and out, and that off the street. So if someone came in uninvited I was trapped and, as my Kurdish friends said, 'It just needs one whacko to hear in the Friday prayers that killing foreigners is jihad, and they'll come knocking at your door in a heartbeat'...Erbil has grown but everyone knows where the foreigners are staying. So I am going to stay in the hotel until next week when I will move in with some Kurdish friends who live in a gated community. If Daesh(Islamic State) wants to attack they will but it will take planning and I won't be THE target..."
Ms Whitley said that she did not believe reports coming out of Turkey that Ms Sutton had been teary after missing her flight to Iraq and had taken her own life in a toilet cubicle.
"Nothing about this story is ringing true for me at the moment. The idea that Jacky would find herself without money at the airport, the idea she would take her own life ... I think there must be an independent inquiry into the circumstances around her death to answer all of these obvious questions."
The Australian National University where Ms Sutton was a PhD candidate at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies meanwhile has called in counsellors to deal with students and staff distraught at her death. Ms Sutton had tutored more than 130 students.
Similarly the director of the centre and professor of political science at the university, Amin Saikal said the news surrounding the death had raised many questions.
He did not think it believable that Ms Sutton had missed a connecting flight at Ataturk airport and did not have enough money for a replacement ticket.
"I find this very odd, and difficult to believe. Jacky knew that if she was having a problem with her travel, she could have contacted us and we would have immediately organised assistance for her," Professor Saikal said.
He also said unverified Turkish media reports had suggested she had $2000 in her luggage after her body was found.
Professor Saikal said Ms Sutton was known for her professionalism, high level of organisation, punctuality and extraordinary focus.
Counsellors were in attendance when ANU staff were told the news on Monday afternoon and returned on Tuesday morning to help with distressed students who were tutored by Ms Sutton in politics in the Middle East.
Professor Saikal said many had been in tears at the news.
"She was very well liked and respected by her students and we had always received extremely positive feedback about her work, so many were just devastated to learn the news," Professor Saikal said.
She spoke five languages including Arabic, and had moved to Canberra ostensibly to continue her work in foreign aid but had begun her PhD in the wake of government cuts to AusAID, according to Ms Whitley.
She had flown to Istanbul from London last week after attending a memorial for her predecessor Ammar Al Shahbander, former Iraq director of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, who had been killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad along with 16 others.
Professor Saikal noted that initial media reports that Ms Sutton may have taken her own life were confounding as she had shown no signs of emotional distress or depression.
"I was very surprised by those suggestions as the Jacky I know could not possibly have done something like that. She was never prone to being emotionally unstable or depressed in any way, in fact, if anything she was the opposite. She was incredibly level-headed."
On whether there should be an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death, Professor Saikal said it would ultimately be a matter for the British authorities – as Ms Sutton was a British citizen – as well as her family.
The ANU issued a statement on Tuesday expressing "deepest condolences to Jacky's friends and family" and offering free counselling to ANU staff and students.
"Jacky came to ANU in January 2014. She was a specialist on Iraq, Afghanistan and the wider region, and a strong supporter of women media professionals in that part of the world. Jacky brought a wealth of experience to ANU from her time as a journalist and through her humanitarian work," the statement said.
If you or someone you know needs support or information about suicide prevention, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
