British Man Arrested in Ecuador for Murder

A British man has been arrested in Ecuador after a woman’s body was discovered inside a suitcase despite him reportedly telling The Sun that he was watching England at the time.

Local authorities say Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith is alleged to have caused the death of 36-year-old Natalia Villalba in an apartment in the Chico neighbourhood of Bogota, Colombia, on 18 June.

The 46-year-old from Bournemouth reportedly rang The Sun a day before his arrest and said: “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.”

England’s World Cup match took place on 17 June.

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 X account of the Attorney General’s Office in Colombia said Foster-Smith is suspected of beating Ms 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.”

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

Dorset Police was approached for comment.