Judge upholds detention of foreigner accused of killing model in Bogotá
A judge of the guarantees tribunal in the Colombian capital approved the detention of Foster Martinson, a British national aged 46, linked to the homicide of Natalia Villalba.
Judge upholds detention of foreigner accused of killing model in Bogotá
A judge of the guarantees tribunal in the Colombian capital approved the detention of Foster Martinson, a British national aged 46, linked to the homicide of Natalia Villalba, a young woman whose body was found in a suitcase inside an apartment in the Chicó sector.
The judicial hearing took place on Sunday, 28 June 2026. The accused had been deported from Ecuadorian territory during the night of the preceding Saturday. Upon landing at El Dorado international airport, CTI officials detained him and transferred him to the corresponding court.
The judge decided that the hearing where charges would be brought and the legal situation of the accused would be determined would be held at a later date, in response to a request by the accused himself.
According to the Prosecutor's Office hypothesis, Martinson allegedly entered the property where the victim was alone. There, he allegedly beat her to death, then hid the body in a suitcase, altered the evidence at the scene and fled by road towards Ecuador, crossing via the Rumichaca bridge.
The accused already has a criminal record in Europe. The British press has documented that he was convicted of systematically harassing a 40-year-old woman between May and October 2025. The man stalked her near her workplace, attempted to find her and investigated her on various internet pages. A court in Bournemouth found him guilty and sentenced him to prison for that offence.
The Colombian judicial authorities continue to gather evidence to clarify the details of the crime.
Source: Q'HUBO Medellín
Source: Google News CO — Bogotá