A UK-based scientist has been brutally murdered in Colombia – and he was only found after children discovered his dismembered body parts.
Trained biologist Alessandro Coatti was found packed into a suitcase and dumped into a stream in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta.
The tragic 42-year-old worked at the Royal Society of Biology since April 2017.
He was first employed as a science policy officer, and for the past six years he was a senior science policy officer, according to his LinkedIn page.
Police are said to have only found his head, hands and feet, and a search is still ongoing for his torso and remaining body parts.
Santa Marta’s mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello offered a handsome reward to anyone with information linked to his murder.
He offered nearly £10,000 to those with information which could lead to the arrest of those responsible for the man’s horrific killing.
The mayor said: “I have instructed the authorities to join forces to solve the death of [the scientist’s name].
“We are offering a reward of fifty million Colombian pesos for information that will allow us to identify and capture those responsible.
“This crime will not go unpunished.
“Criminals must know that in Santa Marta criminality has no place.
“We will pursue them until they are brought to justice.”
The Royal Society of Biology said in a statement: “Alessandro Coatti, known as Ale, worked for the Royal Society of Biology for 8 years.
“He was a passionate and dedicated scientist, leading RSB animal science work, writing numerous submissions, organising events and giving evidence in the House of Commons.
“He left RSB at the end of 2024 to volunteer in Ecuador and travel in South America. We are all in shock.
Ale will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to his friends and family at this truly awful time.”
The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, and police have cordoned off the location where the body was found.
The Italian-born scientist had been a post-graduate neuroscience researcher at University College London.
Coatti is believed to have been on holiday at the time, and was staying at a hotel in the city centre.
He was found in a stream by a road leading to the Sierra Nevada football stadium.
His corpse was identified by a hotel wristband on one of the parts of his body that was found.
The Sun approached the Foreign Office for comment.
It comes after cops launched a manhunt in Colombia after a Brit’s decomposing body was found in an apartment.
Cops made the grim discovery after locals complained about a strong smell coming from the flat.
And in December last year, an alleged hitwoman was arrested in Colombia over a string of gang murders – including her ex-boyfriend.
She nicknamed herself La Muñeca – which chillingly translates to The Doll.