British Man Arrested in Ecuador After Woman's Body Found in Suitcase in Colombia

A British man has been arrested in Ecuador after the body of a woman was found inside a suitcase in Colombia, according to local authorities as reported by The Guardian and the South China Morning Post.

Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith, 46, from Bournemouth, Dorset, is alleged to have caused the death of 36-year-old Natalia Villalba in an apartment in the Chicó neighbourhood of Bogotá on June 18, local authorities said.

According to reports, Foster-Smith phoned The Sun newspaper a day before his arrest and claimed he was watching an England World Cup match at the time of the incident. He was quoted as saying: "I was watching England vs 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."

England's World Cup match took place on June 17, as reported by The Guardian. The South China Morning Post noted that the match was England's opening game of the tournament, held in Dallas, Texas.

The Sun reported that Foster-Smith made a second call to its newsdesk on Friday, before his arrest. A source told the newspaper that he was located via the phone calls he had made. There was fear that he was trying to buy a plane ticket to Europe, the newspaper reported.

The attorney general's office in Colombia said on its official X account that Foster-Smith was accused of beating Villalba to death before placing her body in a suitcase, attempting to conceal what happened, and fleeing the scene.

Dorset police are said to have been among the authorities that assisted with locating him before he was held at Quito international airport in Ecuador's capital. An arrest warrant had been obtained by prosecutors in Colombia and an Interpol red notice was issued, local authorities said as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Carlos Fernando Galán, Bogotá's mayor, said Dorset police had assisted with the operation. "This painful case will not go unpunished," he said.

A spokesperson for the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: "We are supporting a British man who has been detained in Ecuador and are in touch with the local authorities."

Dorset police were approached for comment on Sunday, but no response has been reported.