The dismembered body of a prominent scientist has been discovered in various locations in a town in Colombia. A group of children discovered a black suitcase which contained the scientist’s head, hands and feet last Sunday.
Biologist Alessandro Coatti, 42, worked at the Royal Society of Biology in London for eight years until the end of 2024 to volunteer and travel in South America. Mr Coatti arrived in the coastal port Santa Marta, a town on Colombia’s north coast, on April 3 and was reported missing the following night. When the Italian national’s limbs were discovered in the town, authorities were able to identify Mr Coatti via a wristband which belonged to the hostel where he was staying.
On Monday, another suitcase, found to the south of the city, contained Mr Coatti’s torso. The hunt concluded the next day when his legs were found in a sack in the neighbourhood where the search began, local media report.
Authorities have been reviewing the Italian national’s movements but have made little progress on piecing together the possible cause for Mr Coatti’s horrific death. The commander from the town’s police force confirmed he did not have a criminal record and had not received any threats. “He was a visitor, a scientist with no suspicious connections,” Jaime Ríos Puerto added.
“The challenge is to reconstruct his route and discover if he was a victim of a trap or if he unknowingly became involved in a risky situation,” an anonymous investigator told Colombian news outlet El Tiempo.
The authorities are now appealing for information and the town’s mayor, Carlos Pinedo, has offered a reward of approximately £9,000.
“I have instructed authorities to coordinate the entire inter-institutional effort to solve the death of Italian citizen Alessandro Coatti,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are offering a reward of fifty million pesos ($50,000,000) for accurate information that allows us to identify and capture those responsible.
“This crime will not go unpunished. Criminals must know that crime has no place in Santa Marta. We will pursue them until they are brought to justice.”
Santa Marta, located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is surrounded by beaches lush mountains but the city has struggled with struggles to control crime. Human rights campaigner Norma Vera Salazar told local reporters that there has been a pattern of similar “vigilante” killings, with bodies chopped and discarded. “There have been 13 victims since 2024 and in 2025,” she told El Tiempo.
Police in the area have registered 194 murders this year alone.
A conflict expert from the area said that the killing resembled those carried out by an armed group that operates in the area. “Why did they murder a scientist in such a brutal way? What message did they want to send? To whom?” Lerber Dimas said.
Mr Coatti was staying in a hostel in the historic centre of the town. An employee said that the scientist had asked several times for directions to a mountainous region outside of the city and if there were opportunities to study species in the area.
The Royal Society of Biology paid tribute to their former colleague in a statement, describing him as a “passionate and dedicated” scientist. “Ale was funny, warm, intelligent, loved by everyone he worked with,” the statement read.
In 2022, Mr Coatti gave evidence to Parliament about his work on genetic technologies. “I will cherish memories of that day,” he said at the time on social media.
Gilles Laurent, a researcher who oversaw Mr Coatti’s work at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, told the Express: “One could not think of a more friendly, open-minded, optimistic, positive, enthusiastic and kind human being than Ale; how and why this happened is beyond comprehension.”
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is following the case closely.
A spokesperson said: “The Italian Embassy in Bogotá, in close conjunction with the Farnesina, is closely following the murder case of Alessandro Coatti, maintaining constant contact with the victim’s family members and local authorities.
“According to some early reports, which the embassy is currently verifying, the victim is believed to be a biologist from the University of Bologna, who was working in London. Investigations are ongoing, with active collaboration between local and Italian authorities.
“The Italian Embassy in Bogotá, in close coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is closely following the case with the utmost attention.”
