Kimberley Blackwell had been living in Costa Rica for about a year and running a chocolate business. Kimberley Blackwell had been living in Costa Rica for about a year and running a chocolate business. (Samaritan Xocolata)

The Foreign Affairs Department has confirmed a Canadian woman was killed earlier this week in Costa Rica in what local media reported as a possible homicide.

The woman, identified in Costa Rican media reports as 53-year-old Kimberley Blackwell of Whitehorse, was found on the patio of her home near Puerto Jimenez.

A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs would not confirm the woman's identity, saying only that consular officials at the Canadian Embassy in San Jose are working closely with local authorities to gather additional information and are providing consular assistance to the family.

The media reports cited officials as saying Blackwell was found with obvious signs of trauma and appeared to have been beaten.

Daily news websites A.M. Costa Rica and Inside Costa Rica reported that Blackwell had been living in Costa Rica for about a year and operated a chocolate business.