Colombian police have launched a manhunt for a British national after the body of 36-year-old model Natalia Villalba Angarita was found inside a large suitcase in a rented apartment in Bogotá. The apartment was on the building’s seventh floor, and the body was discovered by cleaning staff who entered after hearing running water from the bathroom and receiving no response when they called out repeatedly.
Investigators say the scene included Angarita’s personal belongings, among them two passports, one valid and one expired, with stamps showing travel to Spain. Authorities are treating the case as a suspected premeditated murder. Her body has been sent for an autopsy to determine both the cause of death and the exact time she died.
According to police, the British suspect entered the apartment on June 17 and left the next day. Security cameras reportedly captured him carrying bedding to the laundry area, and investigators are now checking for possible DNA, fibers and blood evidence. A second foreign national, an American from Texas, is also being examined as part of the inquiry after reportedly staying in the apartment earlier during Villalba’s visit.
Police are reviewing security footage, building entry records and the movements of both men. No arrests have been made, and both are wanted for questioning. The case has shocked Colombia and drawn comparisons to the 2023 murder of DJ Valentina Trespalacios, whose body was also found in a suitcase. Her American partner, John Nelson Poulos, was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to more than 42 years in prison.
