Brit physician stated ‘I used to be watching England’ earlier than mannequin’s physique present in suitcase
Matthew Foster-Smith, 46, from Poole, Dorset, was arrested in Ecuador after the alleged murder of Colombian model Natalia Villalba, 36, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase
Matthew Ashley Foster‑Smith has been arrested in Ecuador(Image: Dorset Police)
A British medic sought in connection with the alleged murder of a Colombian model whose body was found inside a suitcase at her rented flat, has been arrested in Ecuador. Matthew Foster-Smith had been identified locally as the individual police and prosecutors in Bogota were keen to speak to regarding the brutal death of Natalia Villalba.
The 46-year-old from Poole, Dorset maintained his innocence just hours prior to his arrest. He told The Sun after departing Colombia one day before Natalia’s body was discovered on Monday: “It wasn’t me. I was watching England.”
Colombian prosecutors confirmed his detention overnight, alleging that the victim had been beaten to death before attempts were made to hide the horrific crime. They stated: “Pursuant to an arrest warrant obtained by a prosecutor from the Bogota Sectional Office, and following the issue of an Interpol Red Notice, Ecuador’s National Police apprehended a British citizen at Quito International Airport.
“He is alleged to be responsible for the death of a 36-year-old woman on June 18 in an apartment located in the Chico neighbourhood of northern Bogota.
“Evidence obtained by the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) indicates that he allegedly entered the apartment where the victim was alone, physically assaulted her until she died, and manipulated the body to place it inside a suitcase. He then carried out various actions aimed at concealing what had happened, altering the crime scene, and fleeing the location.
“The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia will carry out the necessary procedures to ensure that the foreign national is placed at its disposal and prosecuted in Colombia for the crimes of aggravated femicide and concealment, alteration, or destruction of material evidence.”
“His location was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of the Attorney General’s Office, @MigracionCol, @SeguridadBOG, Interpol Colombia, and the authorities of Ecuador. “
In their statement, prosecutors identified the arrested man as Foster Martinson.
Natalia’s body was discovered by a cleaner beneath a running shower in the bathroom of seventh-floor apartment 702 at the Morph Chico building who had entered because the victim’s rental period had expired.
Her heartbroken mum Claudia disclosed earlier this week that her daughter had ceased answering her calls last Thursday, the same day Foster-Smith was allegedly spotted departing the apartment block after gaining access to Natalia’s flat the day before.
Police say Natalia originally moved into her apartment between June 3 and 7 with a man from Texas before later prolonging her stay for a further fortnight until June 21..
Security cameras allegedly captured Foster-Smith carrying bedsheets to a laundry room within the building before departing.. He fled Colombia on Sunday (June 21) via the Rumichaca International Bridge, a busy border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador..
Speaking to the Sun a day before his arrest he said: “I was watching England versus Croatia on a big screen in an Irish bar so it wasn’t me.
“After the match I went into the shopping centre, I mooched about, bought an ice cream, and came back later for the later games.”
He added: “I didn’t leave with anyone and went to bed myself at about 11pm local time” and claimed he had departed Colombia and was planning to catch a flight back to the UK after receiving “death threats” from local gangsters.
