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A British man has been arrested in Ecuador after the body of a woman was found inside a suitcase despite him telling The Sun newspaper that he was watching England at the time.
Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith is alleged to have caused the death of 36-year-old Natalia Villalba in a flat in the Chico neighbourhood of Bogota, Colombia, on June 18, local authorities said.
But the 46-year-old from Bournemouth reportedly rang The Sun a day before his arrest and said: “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.
The Sun reported that the suspect made a second call to its newsdesk on Friday, before his arrest, with a source telling the newspaper that he was located via the phone calls he had made.
It was feared that he was trying to buy a plane ticket to Europe, the newspaper reported.
A post on the official social media account of the Attorney General’s Office in Colombia said Foster-Smith is suspected of beating Villalba to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying 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.
It came after an arrest warrant was obtained by prosecutors in Colombia and the issue of an Interpol Red Notice, local authorities said.
Carlos Fernando Galan, Bogotá‘s mayor, said that Dorset Police had assisted with the operation.
He added: “This painful case will not go unpunished.”
Dorset Police and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office were approached for comment.


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Entrance to the international terminal of the Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport in Ecuador,  where Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith was held by authorities. Photo: Shutterstock

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He is suspected of beating a woman to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying to conceal what happened and fleeing the scene


He is suspected of beating a woman to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying to conceal what happened and fleeing the scene.


UK man arrested after woman’s body found in suitcase in Colombia

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}He is suspected of beating a woman to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying to conceal what happened and fleeing the scene

He is suspected of beating a woman to death before placing her body in a suitcase, trying to conceal what happened and fleeing the scene