Alessandro Coatti, 42, vanished on Friday, April 4, a day after arriving in Santa Marta, about 2 hours east of Barranquilla on Colombia's northern coast, local outlets El Spectador and El Tiempo reported.
His decapitated body was found inside a suitcase on Sunday, April 6, the BBC reported, citing investigators.
Santa Marta Mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello confirmed Coatti’s killing in a statement on X on Monday.
Prior to his disappearance, Coatti had reportedly asked staff at his hostel about doing research in the area, El Tiempo reported.
"He asked several times about routes to Minca and if there was any possibility of studying species in the area," a hostel employee said, according to the outlet. “The last time he was seen, he was leaving that place around dusk.”
https://people.com/dismembered-body-parts-missing-italian-scientist-found-suitcase-colombia-11712209