An Italian researcher, Alessandro Coatti, 42 years old, was killed and dismembered in Colombia, he Italian embassy in Bogota said Tuesday.
The man's head and arms were found in a suitcase near the stadium in the town of Santa Marta.
The police traced Coatti's identity thanks to a hotel bracelet he was wearing on his wrist.
Other pieces of the researcher's body were found in another area of the city.
According to initial reconstructions, on Saturday night the man had gone out to go to a nightclub and never returned.
Based on the first information gathered, it emerges that Coatti, born in Portomaggiore (Ferrara), was in South America for tourism and had already visited Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
In Colombia the man, who was traveling alone, had among other things visited the Tyrona natural park.
The Italian Embassy in Bogota is assisting Coatti's family with all the steps necessary to identify the body and is collaborating with the authorities for the investigation.
The mayor of the city of Santa Marta, in Colombia, has offered 10 thousand euros (50 million pesos) for information that allows to identify and arrest those responsible for the murder.
Mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello wrote this on his Facebook page, explaining that he has given instructions to coordinate the investigations into the case. "This crime will not go unpunished. The criminals must know that in Santa Marta crime has no place. We will pursue them until they are brought to justice", Cuello wrote in the post.
In Britain, the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) says it is "shocked by the announcement of the death of former colleague Alessandro Coatti, murdered in Colombia".
The man had left the organisation at the end of 2024, to volunteer in Ecuador and travel in South America, it is explained on the RSB portal.
The victim "had worked" for the British organisation "for eight years as head of the science policy team, before being promoted to senior manager".
Coatti is described as "a passionate and dedicated scientist, who had led the organisation's work on animal science, writing numerous papers and organising events and presentations" in Parliament.
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