Colombia police probe case of dismembered Italian scientist

A police stands guard at a bridge in Taraza, Colombia, Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Police in a popular Colombian tourist town hunted for suspects Wednesday after the dismembered partial remains of a noted Italian scientist were found in a suitcase.

A police commander in the palm-lined Caribbean city of Santa Marta said that parts of scientist Alessandro Coatti have been found in different locations since Monday.

The 42-year-old is believed to have entered Colombia as a tourist and the motive for his murder is still unknown.

The mayor of Santa Marta has offered a reward of $12,000 to find those responsible.

Coatti formerly worked for Britain’s Royal Society of Biology and was known to now-devastated colleagues as “Ale.”

His former colleagues described him as “funny, warm, intelligent” and “loved by everyone he worked with.”

He “will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him,” the Royal Society of Biology said.

Coatti worked as a science policy officer, work that included giving evidence to parliament, before leaving in 2024 to “volunteer in Ecuador and travel in South America,” the organization said.

Local media reported that parts of Coatti were found in a suitcase Monday and his lower limbs were found in a bag at another location in subsequent days.

Santa Marta is nestled between the snowcapped Sierra Nevada, the glistening Caribbean and an idyllic national park that attracts tourists from all over the world.

But mountains near the city are also home to a drug-running paramilitary gang known as the “Conquistadors of the Sierra Nevada.”

It is not known if the group was involved in Coatti’s murder, but they have been linked to the murder and dismemberment of others in recent years.

Local newspaper El Tiempo reported that an Italian prosecutor is set to arrive in Colombia to help the investigation.