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2w ago

British Man Arrested in Ecuador After Model’s Body Found in Bogotá Suitcase

Colombian prosecutors will seek to bring the detained British national to Colombia to face aggravated femicide charges after saying evidence links him to a June 18 killing.

Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith, a British stalker, was arrested over the weekend for allegedly beating Colombian influencer Natalia Villalba to death and stuffing her body in a suitcase before being caught trying to flee South America, officials said.
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Colombian police say a man allegedly caused the death of a 36-year-old woman in a Bogota unit. (AP PHOTO)

Overview

  • Cleaning staff found 36-year-old Natalia Villalba Angarita’s body inside a suitcase in her Bogotá apartment on June 22, with the shower still running.
  • Authorities issued an arrest warrant and an Interpol Red Notice, and Ecuadorian police detained 46-year-old Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith at Quito International Airport late in June.
  • Colombian prosecutors allege he entered the apartment, physically assaulted Villalba until she died, placed her body in a suitcase and took steps to conceal the crime.
  • Foster-Smith has prior UK convictions for stalking and was traced after leaving Colombia via the Rumichaca border while investigators review CCTV, the victim’s computer and a missing phone.
  • Prosecutors are preparing to secure his custody for trial in Colombia while forensic work and legal steps for his transfer and prosecution on aggravated femicide and evidence-concealment charges continue.