Latest news with #RoyalSocietyofBiology
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
London scientist dismembered in Colombia was lured into trap through Grindr
A scientist found dismembered in Colombia was the victim of a honeytrap through the gay dating app Grindr, police believe. The mutilated remains of Alessandro Coatti, a 38-year-old Italian who worked in London, were discovered scattered across the coastal city of Santa Marta on April 6, two days after he was reported missing. Investigators had originally suspected the molecular biologist may have been killed in a case of mistaken identity between warring drug clans. Colombian police, however, now believe that Coatti, a tourist with no links to organised crime, was the victim of a gang targeting foreigners looking for dates online. The Italian was reportedly lured to an abandoned house in the San José del Pando neighbourhood after messaging someone over Grindr, a popular dating app designed for LGBT people. The gang's plan had been to incapacitate Coatti using a drug colloquially known as 'Devil's Breath' (scopolamine) and then rob him, according to sources first reported in El Tiempo, a Colombian newspaper. Scopolamine is a drug that can be used to treat motion sickness but in larger doses, it can disorient and incapacitate users, and even paralyse victims. What happened remains unclear but post-mortem examinations concluded that Coatti was killed by blunt-force trauma. The gang is said to have dismembered his body after his death to trick investigators into believing it was a gangland-style hit as a warning message to rivals. At least four people, including a woman, were allegedly involved in the scheme and had been identified by authorities, El Tiempo reported. A group of children stumbled across a suitcase on the side of the road leading to the Sierra Nevada football stadium containing Coatti's severed head and arms. His mutilated torso was discovered by police in a bag after locals in the Minuto de Dios neighbourhood reported a rotting smell coming from a stretch of the Manzanares river. Other remains of Coatti are still missing. Police have carried out a string of raids in Santa Marta and have seized three mobile phones in connection with the case. The city authorities have offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of his killers. Coatti, known as Ale to friends, had worked for the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) for eight years as a senior policy officer. The Italian, originally from Ferrara in northern Emilia-Romagna, had emigrated to London and left the RSB at the end of last year to volunteer in Ecuador and travel through South America. He arrived in Santa Marta on April 3 and disappeared the following day. Col Jaime Ríos Puerto, the commander of the Santa Marta police, confirmed Coatti had no criminal record and was not the subject of any threats. Sandra Lovato, Coatti's mother, shared that the last message she ever received from her son was on Mother's Day, five days before he went missing. 'Hi Mum, I want to come back. I love you, so much,' it read. Ms Lovato has shared several tributes to her son on Facebook, including highlighting his work in teaching children English in Ecuador. 'I miss you so much, I can't breathe. I miss you, I miss you so much,' she wrote in another post. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Independent
10-04-2025
- The Independent
Killing of London scientist found dismembered in Columbia may have been mistaken identity
Investigators from Italy are travelling to Colombia to help uncover why a UK-based scientist was killed and some of his remains found in a suitcase in a Caribbean city. Alessandro Coatti had quit his job with the Royal Society of Biology late last year to travel in South America and do volunteer work in Ecuador, and was last seen leaving his accommodation for a night out in Santa Marta on April 3, Italian media reports. Over the next few days, police would discover his remains hidden in three different locations, including near the stadium and in a river. Italy is sending a team to Bogota to assist the investigation, which could include state police officers or members of the Carabinieri's special operations group, Italy's Corriere Della Sera reports. One line of inquiry is whether the killing was a case of mistaken identity in a city that has seen other similar murders due to gang violence, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported. Human rights defender and activist Norma Vera Salazar told El Tiempo there had been a clear pattern of similar crimes in the area. Since the beginning of last year, she said 13 people have been tortured and dismembered, their remains stuffed in coffee sacks or rubbish bags and abandoned on rural roads in the country's northern Magdalena region. While those murders are often carried out by organised crime, investigators told El Tiempo there was no connection between drug cartels or criminal gangs and Mr Coatti. The scientist was due to shortly return to Italy and visit family, his uncle told Corriere Della Sera, and he was just a few months short of his 39th birthday. Giovanni Coatti said his nephew was a cautious person, and he had never caused problems. 'He was a very good boy, he loved to travel,' his uncle said. Mr Coatti's former colleagues at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) paid tribute to the scientist they knew as 'Ale', saying he was 'funny and kind' and always curious, asking questions about everything. 'He had so many close friends at RSB and in the bioscience world more widely. He was greatly loved by everyone he worked with. He had many friends here in the UK and family back in Italy,' a spokesperson from the RSB told The Independent. Mr Coatti had worked at the RSB for eight years, before he left in December. Prior to that he did postgraduate research at University College London and had worked as a science policy intern at the Italian Embassy in London. The mayor of Santa Marta offered a $50 million peso (£9,000) award for any information relating to the death. 'This crime will not go unpunished. The criminals must know that crime has no place in Santa Marta. We will pursue them until they are brought to justice,' he said.
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- The Guardian
Italy investigates possible mistaken-identity killing of scientist in Colombia
Prosecutors in Rome have opened an investigation into the murder of an Italian scientist in Colombia, with one theory being that he could have been killed by warring criminal clans in a case of mistaken identity. Alessandro Coatti, who until late last year worked at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) in London, was last seen leaving a hostel in Santa Marta, a port city on the Caribbean coast, on 3 April. The 38-year-old's dismembered body parts were found two days later in a suitcase that had been dumped on the outskirts of the city. The molecular biologist had been travelling and conducting research in South America after working in London for eight years. There is no evidence that Ciotta had any links to organised crime. Rome prosecutors will collaborate with counterparts in Colombia, with Italy expected to send a team of investigators to Santa Marta. According to reports in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, one line of inquiry is that Coatti could have been killed by mistake in the context of a 'settling of scores' between organised crime groups. Lerber Dimas, a crime expert, told the Colombian news website El Tiempo that the killing bore the hallmarks of the two armed groups operating in the area, Clan del Golfo and the Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra. Norma Vera Salazar, a human rights expert, said there had been a spate of similar crimes. 'There is a clear recurring pattern in these crimes: bodies are tortured, dismembered, stuffed into garbage or coffee sacks, and abandoned along rural roads,' she told the website. 'These types of murders are used by self-defence groups to send warning messages, instil fear and mark territory.' Coatti was travelling alone in South America, visiting Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador before arriving on 3 April in Santa Marta, which is surrounded by beaches and mountains and is a gateway to some of Colombia's most popular tourist destinations. His disappearance was reported the next day. Coatti was born in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region, where his parents live in the town of Alfonsine, close to Ravenna. He was planning to return to Italy for Easter, his uncle Giovanni told the Italian press. 'Alessandro was a good, happy person and a brilliant biologist,' he told the local news site Il Resto del Carlino. 'He loved to travel and discover the world.' He added: 'We are shocked, what happened is surreal. We have entrusted ourselves to the Italian and Colombian authorities. We want the truth. Alessandro was only 38 years old, with a life ahead of him. We cannot understand why this happened to him, and in that way.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
Tributes pour in for Italian scientist murdered, dismembered in Colombia
April 9 (UPI) -- Tributes trickled in from around the world to mourn the death of a scientist after parts of his dismembered body were found in Colombia. Alessandro Coatti, 42, was a London-based molecular biologist who worked at the Royal Society of Biology and was doing research while traveling in South America after eight years working in London as science policy officer before his promotion to senior science policy officer. "He was a passionate and dedicated scientist, leading RSB animal science work, writing numerous submissions, organizing events and giving evidence in the House of Commons," the Royal Society of Biology wrote in a statement. Parts of his dismembered body were found in a suitcase dumped in a stream on the outskirts of the Caribbean coast city of Santa Marta, a gateway to some of the most popular tourist destinations in Colombia. "Ale was funny, warm, intelligent, loved by everyone he worked with and will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him." According to reports, Coatti, an Italian national, inquired with a hotel worker about visiting the village of Minca and was conducting research on local animal species. He left the RSB at the end of last year to do volunteer work in Ecuador and travel South America. "This crime will not go unpunished," Carlos Pinedo Cuello, the mayor of Santa Marta, said on social media as he issued a reward for information leading to the capture of a suspect. "The criminals must know that crime has no place in Santa Marta," he said. "We will pursue them until they are brought to justice."
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
Dismembered scientist found inside suitcase may have been lured into a trap
The scientist found dismembered inside a suitcase in Colombia may have been lured into a trap, police fear. Alessandro Coatti, a 42-year-old Italian national who worked in London, went missing on April 4 while visiting the coastal city of Santa Marta. His severed limbs and head were discovered inside a suitcase by a group of children near a football stadium two days later. Police found his mutilated torso in a black bag dumped in a stretch of the Manzanares River a day after that. The city's mayor has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr Coatti's killers. The brutality of the murder has perplexed investigating authorities, who say there is no evidence to suggest that Mr Coatti, a former senior policy officer with the Royal Society of Biology (RSB), was involved in any criminality. Detectives are exploring whether Mr Coatti was lured into a trap, possibly with the help of a woman. He was last heard of making enquiries with hotel staff about routes into Minca, a mountainous jungle region approximately 20 kilometres from the city, where he wanted to study tropical flora and fauna. A police source told El Tiempo, a Colombian newspaper: 'The challenge is to reconstruct his route and discover whether he was the victim of a trap, or unwittingly caught in a dangerous situation. 'Also, if there's a woman involved.' Norma Vera Salazar, a human rights campaigner from Santa Marta, said Mr Coatti's death was extremely typical of murders carried out by local criminal gangs to intimidate rivals. There have been 13 such cases since 2024 in the region, she added. Ms Salazar told El Tiempo: 'There is a clear pattern in these crimes registered in Magdalena and part of La Guajira: bodies tortured, dismembered, stuffed in trash bags or coffee sacks, and abandoned on rural roads. 'These types of homicides are used by violent groups to send a message, impose fear and mark their territory.' Mr Coatti, known as Ale to friends, had worked for the RSB for eight years before leaving at the end of last year to volunteer in Ecuador and travel through South America. He was one of several scientists who had presented evidence in the House of Commons in July 2022 to discuss a Bill on genetic technologies for plants and animals. Mr Coatti had been a researcher in neuroscience at University College London between September 2011 and June 2013, having previously interned at the Italian embassy in London. Giovanni Coatti, his uncle, said: 'He wanted to go and live there [to South America], so he'd gone to travel there to see about it. 'He would have come home next week. 'It's a nightmare, we don't know what could have happened. He was very intelligent, he was building a great career in London and we heard from him a lot.' Mr Coatti told Il Messaggero, an Italian newspaper: 'My wife had told Alessandro not to go to Colombia, but he decided to go. Now we'll have to tell his grandmother, we don't know if she'll be able to handle news of this kind.' A spokesman for the RSB said: '[Mr Coatti] was a passionate and dedicated scientist, leading RSB animal science work, writing numerous submissions, organising events, and giving evidence in the House of Commons. '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.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
