Home / Crime and Justice / British Man Held in Ecuador Over Bogotá Suitcase Murder
British Man Held in Ecuador Over Bogotá Suitcase Murder
28 Jun
Summary
- A British man is accused of murdering a woman in Bogotá and hiding her body.
- He was arrested in Ecuador after authorities tracked him via phone calls.
- Colombian and UK authorities, along with Interpol, aided in his apprehension.
Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith, a 46-year-old British national from Dorset, has been detained in Ecuador. He is accused by Colombian authorities of causing the death of Natalia Villalba in an apartment in Bogotá's Chicó neighborhood on June 18th. Prosecutors allege Foster-Smith beat Villalba to death, placed her body in a suitcase, and fled the scene.
His apprehension in Ecuador followed an arrest warrant issued in Colombia and an Interpol red notice. Local authorities reported that Foster-Smith's location was determined through phone calls he made, including to a newspaper. He claimed he was watching an England World Cup match in Dallas at the time of the incident.
Dorset police and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office assisted in the operation. Bogotá's mayor affirmed that the case would not go unpunished, and the FCDO confirmed support for the detained British citizen.
