British doctor arrested in Ecuador over Colombian model’s suitcase murder

A British doctor, wanted for the murder of a Colombian model found inside a suitcase, has been arrested in Ecuador.

Matthew Foster-Smith, captured yesterday afternoon at Quito International Airport, had been identified locally as the person police and prosecutors in Bogota wanted to question regarding the violent death of Natalia Villalba.

The 46-year-old from Poole, Dorset, had claimed his innocence hours prior to his arrest. He told the Sun upon leaving Colombia a day before Natalia’s body was discovered: “It wasn’t me. I was watching England.”

Following his arrest at the airport, a well-placed source informed the Colombian press: “He was attempting to buy a ticket to Europe and was apparently located through the phone calls he made from there.”

Overnight Colombian prosecutors confirmed his detention, saying: “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.

“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."

Natalia’s body was found by a cleaner in a suitcase under a running shower in the bathroom of a seventh-floor apartment at the Morph Chico building in Bogota.

Her grief-stricken mum Claudia revealed earlier this week her daughter had stopped taking her calls last Thursday. Investigators say Natalia initially checked into her apartment between June 3 and 7 with a man from Texas before subsequently extending her stay for another fortnight until June 21.

Bogota mayor Carlos Fernando Galan said Dorset Police had assisted in the arrest. He posted: “The man believed to be responsible for the murder of Natalia Villalba has been captured in Ecuador.

"A task force made up of @fiscaliacol and the Bogotá Sectional CTI, @MigracionCol Regional Andina, @seguridadbog, @seguridadequito, Interpol of @PoliciaEcuador, Ecuador’s Migration Service, and @dorsetpolice succeeded this week in locating Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith, who is believed to be responsible for the murder of Natalia Villalba on June 18.”

Foster-Smith left Colombia via the Rumichaca International Bridge, a bustling border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador.

Speaking to the Sun a day before his arrest he claimed he had a lock-tight alibi, saying: “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.” He claimed he had left Colombia and was planning to get a flight back to the UK after receiving “death threats” from local gangsters.