A convicted stalker has been arrested on suspicion of killing Colombian influencer Natalia Villalba and trying to use a World Cup match as his alibi.
Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith, a British former doctor, was detained at Quito International Airport in Ecuador after an international search involving Colombian authorities, Interpol, Ecuadorian migration officials and Dorset Police.
Villalba, a 37-year-old influencer and model, was found dead inside a suitcase at an apartment in Bogotá on June 22. According to reports, a cleaner discovered her body in the bathroom of the seventh-floor apartment after she had stopped answering calls from her mother.
Colombian prosecutors claim Foster-Smith entered Villalba’s apartment while she was alone before physically assaulting her until she died. He is then accused of manipulating her body to fit inside a suitcase and taking steps to conceal the crime.
Dorset Police
Doctor accused of killing influencer claimed he was watching England match
Before his arrest, Foster-Smith denied involvement and claimed he had been watching an England World Cup match at an Irish bar.
“I was watching England versus Croatia on a big screen in an Irish bar so it wasn’t me,” he told The Sun.
He also claimed he went to a shopping center after the match, bought ice cream, and returned later to watch more games.
However, The Sun reported that the timing did not line up with the alleged murder. The England match kicked off at 3pm in Bogotá on June 17, while police believe Villalba was killed between 11:30am and 5:30pm the following day.
Security footage reportedly showed Foster-Smith entering the building where Villalba was staying on June 17 and remaining there until the next day. Cameras also allegedly captured him taking bedsheets to the building’s laundry area before leaving.
The World Cup is turning Tinder into an unexpected dating hotspot
Kick streamer StomperIRL detained after shooting near LA World Cup watch party
Foster-Smith had previously been jailed in the UK for stalking and other sexual offences in 2020. He was also handed another prison sentence last year for stalking another woman.
Ya está en Bogotá el presunto feminicida de Natalia Villalba después de ser capturado en Ecuador. Aquí tendrá que responder ante la justicia.
Este doloroso caso no va a quedar impune. pic.twitter.com/xPDbaqbCce
— Carlos F. Galán (@CarlosFGalan) June 28, 2026
Bogotá mayor Carlos Fernando Galán confirmed the arrest on X and vowed to get justice for Villalba.
“Here he will have to answer to justice. This painful case will not go unpunished,” he remarked.
Foster-Smith is expected to face charges including aggravated femicide and concealment, alteration or destruction of evidence.
