In apartment 702 of a luxurious building located in the north of Bogotá The lifeless body of a woman was found inside a gray suitcase, a discovery that triggered an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI).
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The case occurred in a property located on 95th Street and 21st Street, in the town of Chapinero, where, according to information known to EL TIEMPO, temporary accommodation spaces operated under Airbnb modality.
The victim was identified this Tuesday by Legal Medicine as Natalia Villalba Angarita, originally from Cúcuta. The authorities are keeping several lines of investigation open and reviewing security cameras, entry and exit records, as well as testimonies to establish what happened in the days prior to the discovery.
One of the passports of the young Natalia Villalba. Photo:Private file
Chronology of the Natalia Villalba case
The case came to light at noon this Monday, June 22, when a worker in charge of cleaning tasks entered to apartment 702 and found a suitcase in the bathroom. According to preliminary versions known to Caracol Newsthe woman would have entered the place after receiving no response from the occupants. When entering the bathroom, He found the suitcase while the shower remained open, so he immediately notified the authorities.
After the alert, CTI units arrived at the property to carry out the judicial inspection. A source from the Metropolitan Police told EL TIEMPO that, “in Chicó Nortethe CTI carried out the inspection of a lifeless body”, which was precisely “in the bathroom of an apartment in the town of Chapinero”. It was added that “the CTI is carrying out the investigation in order to clarify the facts.”
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While the first proceedings progressed, The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to EL TIEMPO that the place where the discovery occurred corresponded to a room used as temporary accommodation “that they used as Airbnb,” said a source from the accusing body. The same source specified that the entity was awaiting reports from investigators and He reiterated that the “Prosecutor’s Office is in full investigation.”
According to information obtained by the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO, the verifications carried out by the authorities made it possible to establish that Natalia Villalba appeared as the person who rented the apartment where the body was later found.
According to information released preliminarily by Caracol News, the records of the building show that between June 3 and 7 there was a first reservation associated with a US citizen from Texas. Subsequently, the victim would have renewed his stay between June 7 and 21, staying in the apartment for several weeks.
Natalia Villalba was found in an apartment in El Chicó, Chapinero. Photo:Social networks
During that period the entry of a British citizen would also have been recorded.. According to the information known through that channel, The man arrived at the apartment on June 17 and left the next day. In addition, security cameras would have captured the foreigner moving sheets towards a laundry area of the building.
The reconstruction of the events carried out by the authorities coincides with information obtained by Citytv and by the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO, according to which Natalia entered the building accompanied by a foreign man. The report known to this newspaper indicates that The young woman was with a subject from London who entered Colombia between June 16 and 18.
The investigations have also allowed us to establish that The British citizen is one of the people that focuses the attention of researchers. Sources familiar with the case told EL TIEMPO that an attempt is being made to locate the foreigner’s whereabouts, because he would be the last person the victim was seen with before his death.
However, The Prosecutor’s Office clarified to this newspaper that the investigation continues in development and that, for now, “they are investigating the people who entered and left the place”, but “so far there is no one formally linked to the investigation.”
Natalia Villalba, the woman found in a suitcase in the north of Bogotá. Photo:Social networks
The same sources indicated that there are two people under observation within the judicial proceedings and that it will be the prosecutor in the case who will determine if there is merit for an eventual formal connection.
In the midst of searching for answers, Villalba Angarita’s mother, Claudia Villalba, He gave details about the last contacts he had with his daughter to the Investigative Unit of EL TIEMPO. In an interview, he reported that communication was interrupted several days before the discovery.
“Natalia lived in Bogotá for 17 years, we talked frequently, but since Thursday she hasn’t responded to me. She hasn’t received messages or calls either,” he said.
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The woman too He explained that his daughter had been staying in the apartment where she was found for several weeks. “He paid it for weeks and he told me he was going to move soon,” he said. Furthermore, he indicated that some belongings remained in the room and that “the computer was in his room, but the phone has not yet appeared.”
The identification carried out by Forensic Medicine this Tuesday made it possible to officially confirm that the victim was Natalia Villalba Angarita. Meanwhile, investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office, the CTI and the Police continue to review security records, testimonies and other elements of evidence to reconstruct the woman’s last movements and clarify the circumstances surrounding her death.
LAURA NATHALIA QUINTERO ARIZA.
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