A British doctor wanted for the murder of a Colombian model found stuffed inside a suitcase has been arrested in Ecuador. Matthew Foster-Smith, 46, from Poole, Dorset, was detained at Quito International Airport after an Interpol Red Notice was issued.
Body discovered in apartment
The body of Natalia Villalba Angarita, a 36-year-old model from Cúcuta, Colombia, was found by cleaning staff on June 22 when they entered her seventh-floor apartment in Bogotá after the rental period ended. With the shower still running, a grey suitcase containing her remains was discovered in the bathroom.
Foster-Smith had been named as the man police wanted to question over Villalba's violent death. He insisted he was innocent hours before his arrest, using the World Cup as an alibi. He told The Sun: 'I was watching England versus Croatia on a big screen in an Irish bar, so it wasn’t me.'
Alibi and arrest
Foster-Smith claimed he went to a shopping centre after the match, bought an ice cream, and returned to the bar later before going to bed alone at about 11pm local time. Colombian prosecutors confirmed his arrest overnight, stating that he allegedly beat his victim to death and tried to conceal the crime.
According to a statement from the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia: 'Pursuant to an arrest warrant obtained by a prosecutor from the Bogotá Sectional Office, and following the issue of an Interpol Red Notice, Ecuador’s National Police apprehended a British citizen at Quito International Airport. He is alleged to be responsible for the death of a 36-year-old woman on June 18 in an apartment located in the Chico neighbourhood of northern Bogota.'
Evidence and investigation
The statement added that evidence obtained by the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI) indicates Foster-Smith entered the apartment where the victim was alone, physically assaulted her until she died, manipulated the body to place it inside a suitcase, and then carried out actions to conceal what happened, alter the crime scene, and flee. The Attorney General's Office will seek his prosecution for aggravated femicide and concealment of evidence.
His location was made possible through joint efforts of the Attorney General’s Office, Migración Colombia, Seguridad BOG, Interpol Colombia, and Ecuadorian authorities. A source told Colombian press that Foster-Smith's phone calls were traced as he tried to buy a ticket to Europe.
Victim's mother speaks out
Angarita's grieving mother, Claudia, said she became concerned after her daughter stopped taking her calls on June 18, the same day Foster-Smith was reportedly seen leaving the apartment block after entering hers the previous day. CCTV cameras recorded Foster-Smith taking bedsheets to a laundry room before exiting. 'My daughter had been living in Bogota for 17 years,' said Claudia. 'Natalia told me she had a company and worked doing that. I don’t know what it was exactly.' Angarita's body has not yet been released to her family. 'All we want is for the truth to come out,' Claudia added.
Suspect's criminal history
Foster-Smith was jailed for 18 months in the UK in 2020 for stalking an ex and posting revenge porn online. After release, he stalked another woman in her 40s by hanging around her workplace and engineering 'chance' meetings. Dorset Police warned the public not to approach him after he was charged with stalking in September 2024 but skipped bail. He was re-arrested in London in October 2024 and sentenced to two years and two months at Bournemouth Crown Court. Detective Constable Thomas Norman said his second victim 'continued to live in fear' and her life had been 'destroyed'.
Potential sentence in Colombia
If convicted of aggravated femicide, Foster-Smith faces a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years in Colombia. A Colombian foundation, Justicia Para Todos, said before his arrest: 'We reject the violent death of Natalia Villalba. Behind every statistic there is a life, a story, and a family that today demands answers. We call for a thorough, prompt investigation with a gender perspective.'
