A British man, Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith, has been arrested in Ecuador after a woman’s body was found inside a suitcase in an apartment in Bogotá. Colombian authorities allege he beat Natalia Villalba to death, tried to conceal it, and fled—sparking internat
He made the phone calls while the match was still fresh in people’s minds—then later claimed it wasn’t him. Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith. a 46-year-old British man from Bournemouth. Dorset. is now being held in Ecuador after the body of 36-year-old Natalia Villalba was found inside a suitcase in Colombia.
Colombian local authorities said Foster-Smith is alleged to have caused Villalba’s death in an apartment in the Chicó neighbourhood of Bogotá on 18 June. The official version of events is stark: Foster-Smith was accused of beating Villalba to death before placing her body in a suitcase. trying to conceal what happened. and fleeing the scene.
Before his arrest. Foster-Smith told a British newspaper he was watching an England World Cup match on television at the time of the incident. “I was watching England versus Croatia on a big screen in an Irish bar so it wasn’t me. ” he said. adding that after the match he went to a shopping centre. bought an ice-cream. and returned later for the later games. England’s opening World Cup match took place in Dallas, Texas on 17 June.
The search escalated quickly. The Sun reported that the suspect made a second call to the newspaper on Friday prior to his arrest. with a source telling the newspaper he had been located via the phone calls he had made. Colombia’s attorney general’s office posted on its official X account that an arrest warrant had been obtained by prosecutors and that an Interpol red notice was issued.
Dorset police were among the authorities that helped locate him before he was held at Quito international airport in Ecuador’s capital. The case also drew public remarks from Bogotá’s mayor. Carlos Fernando Galán. who said Dorset police assisted with the operation. “This painful case will not go unpunished,” he said.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said it was supporting a British man detained in Ecuador and was in touch with local authorities. Dorset police were approached for comment on Sunday.
In the middle of competing stories—one set out in phone calls during a World Cup night. another laid out by prosecutors—the facts on the ground have only hardened: Villalba’s body was found in a suitcase in an apartment in Bogotá. and Foster-Smith is now facing an arrest in Ecuador tied to the alleged killing in the Chicó neighbourhood on 18 June.
Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith Natalia Villalba suitcase body Bogotá Chicó neighbourhood Ecuador arrest Quito international airport Interpol red notice Dorset police Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office England vs Croatia World Cup