British Suspect Arrested in Quito Over June 18 Bogotá Femicide

3 articles · Updated · democrata.es · Jun 28

Quito airport police detained British citizen Foster Martinson, 36, under an Interpol warrant over the killing of Colombian model and graphic designer Natalia Villalba in Bogotá.
Colombian authorities say Villalba was killed on June 18 in an El Chicó apartment, where her body was later found hidden in a gray suitcase in the bathroom.
Security-camera footage reportedly showed the suspect entering on June 17 and leaving the next day after taking several sheets to the laundry, while prosecutors say he left a shower running and took the victim’s phone to delay discovery.
The case is being pursued as femicide, and Bogotá’s mayor said Colombian, Ecuadorian and British authorities coordinated for a week to track down the suspect after he fled the country.
Authorities also said the man—identified by investigators as Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith—had a 2023 UK harassment conviction and was under British monitoring before traveling to Colombia.