"Incomprehensible sorrow": Father of slain teen mourns a "broken world" after raspberry poisoning
The father of a teen girl allegedly killed after eating poisoned raspberries, sent in an "act of vengeance" by a woman, has shared his sorrow.
Businesswoman Zulma Guzman Castro is wanted by Interpol after public prosecutors said they are looking to question her over the deaths of Emilia Forero, 13, and her friend Ines de Bedout, 14. The two youngsters died in hospital after eating raspberries that were delivered to their home. The dessert was laced with thallium, a colorless and odorless heavy metal initially linked to the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who died in London in 2006.
Forensic experts determined the metal, which can be lethal in tiny doses, was deliberately injected into the raspberries before they were sent to the luxury apartment in Bogota, Colombia. The victims had been playing at the flat when the delivery came on April 3.
After tests indicated the teens were murdered, Colombia’s prosecution service asked Interpol to arrest Guzman, who is said to have fled to Argentina following the deaths.
An agonizing social media post published by Emilia’s devastated dad Pedro was shared overnight, as the youngster was pictured for the first time. Pedro said: "Fourteen years ago, a life of hopes, joys, and dreams began; a life that filled a family, a father, and a mother.
"But it wasn’t just the joy of someone else’s life; it was the beginning of the life of an excellent human being who had dreams, hopes, and goals.
"As a father, it is incomprehensible to think that someone was capable of taking this away. She did not just take away my dreams, my desires, and my prospects in life as a father; she did not just take away my opportunity to be a father-in-law, grandfather, and everything else one can be as a parent. She took away my daughter’s opportunity to be a girlfriend, a professional, a wife, a mother, and a daughter."
In a gut-wrenching message alongside a photo of Emilia as a baby, he added: "Daughter, you will always be the greatest love I could ever feel as a father. No girlfriend or wife could ever generate the love I felt when I had you, and I will carry this love with me until the last day of my life.
"I love you and will love you for the rest of my life. I mourn the stories we will never be able to live. I am grateful for who you were and what you taught me. You were and will always be the most beautiful thing I ever had in my life. I love you. I miss you. I am sorry I could not protect you from this broken world. Despite the pain, I am glad to have had you in my life. I hope to have one last hug from you, even if it is only in my dreams."
Local reports have pointed to the double homicides being a possible crime of passion because the wanted woman, who founded a car sharing company called Car-B, reportedly had an affair with Ines’ dad Juan de Bedout.
Colombian newspaper El Colombiano has claimed investigators are also probing the death of Juan’s wife, who died two years ago, amid speculation she too could have been the victim of thallium poisoning. Guzman, who is protesting her innocence, is understood to have spent time in Brazil, Spain, and the UK since leaving Colombia.
Prosecutors allege Guzman, who left Colombia on April 13, used a courier firm to deliver the fruit dessert. The delivery man has told investigators he was given the package containing the raspberries by a friend of the fugitive and advised it was a present for them because the dessert was one of their favorites.
The package was delivered to the girls just after 7pm local time on April 3 after they reportedly rejected an earlier attempt to hand it to them saying they weren’t expecting anything.
Guzman, in a message which ended up in the hands of a Colombian newspaper, has claimed: "I find myself in the middle of a very serious situation, where I’m being accused of having been the person who sent a poison that killed two girls. They accuse me of having fled to Argentina, and then to Brazil, Spain, and the UK. Those who know me know I haven’t fled anywhere.
"They know I’ve been working in Argentina and began a master’s in journalism here. I went to Spain more than a month ago, with a stopover in Brazil, and then to the UK because of my son. I imagine they’re accusing me because I had a secret relationship with the father of one of the girls.
"Public prosecutors have never informed me about any investigation and I sent a lawyer friend of mine yesterday to ask, because I heard rumors people were talking about me."
World Affairs Correspondent
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