British man arrested after Colombian model found dead in suitcase
A British man has been arrested in South America after the body of a model was found in a suitcase in an apartment in Bogota.
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Matthew Foster-Smith, 46, from Pool is alleged to have killed Natalia Villalba, 36, a Colombian model and graphic designer, on June 18.
Her body was found by a cleaner under a running shower in the bathroom of an apartment in the upmarket Chico neighbourhood of the Colombian capital.
Foster-Smith was arrested at an airport in Ecuador apparently trying to catch a flight to Europe.
Carlos Fernando Galán, Bogota’s mayor, posted on social media: “The man believed to be responsible for the murder of Natalia Villalba has been captured in Ecuador. In Bogota, if you commit the crime, you pay the price. This painful case will not go unpunished.”
The victim’s mother described her daughter as “ a very happy, cheerful, outgoing young woman. She was a little hot-tempered, but she was a very good daughter and a very good sister. [She] was very special to us. Natalia was a very special young woman.
“I ask everyone to help me because no one truly knows what I’m going through. Help me uncover the truth. This cannot be left unpunished.”