He was in Panama and intended to travel to Turkey, according to authorities.
US citizen John Poulos, the main suspect in the death of Colombian DJ Valentina Trespalacios in Bogotá, was captured in Panama after Colombian authorities confirmed that he had fled to Central America on January 22, the day his couple was found dead.
According to the Panamanian National Police, Poulos intended to travel to Istanbul (Turkey). However, after the alert issued by the authorities of the neighboring nation, the National Immigration Service of Panama prevented him from leaving.
The 35-year-old American is waiting for his extradition process to begin in Colombia, where he will be prosecuted for the crime of femicide.
Poulos was Trespalacios’ fiancé and has been held responsible for the crime by the victim’s family, since he was the last person to see her alive. If found guilty, he could face a sentence of 40 years in prison, reports the newspaper El Espectador.
The 23-year-old “influencer” was found dead by a garbage recycler inside a suitcase in the town of Fontibón, west of the Colombian capital. According to the Legal Medicine report, Valentina’s body had a hanging wound and multiple bruises on the chest and legs.
Trespalacios was last seen at dawn last Sunday aboard a public service vehicle, from the InDriver platform, accompanied by Poulos, with whom she went to a nightclub in the south of Bogotá.
Police have in their possession two key videos for the investigation. In one, the couple and another person get into a car and enter an apartment. The second shows how a thick-set man throws the suitcase where the young woman was found into the container.
The National Police informs that Interpol Panama detected the presence of the American citizen Poulos John Nelson, after the alert given by the Republic of Colombia, for the murder of DJ Valentina Trespalacios. pic.twitter.com/fDkaE65gRj
– National Police (@ProtegeryServir) January 25, 2023
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