A businesswoman accused of a heinous crime involving the deaths of two schoolgirls in Colombia has been located after a dramatic rescue from the River Thames. Zulma Guzman Castro, wanted for allegedly killing the girls with poisoned chocolate-covered raspberries, was discovered near Battersea Bridge in west London on Tuesday morning.
Castro is accused of committing this terrible act by lacing the berries with thallium, a dangerous and undetectable heavy metal, as a supposed act of revenge following a clandestine affair with the father of one of the young victims. The victims, Ines de Bedout, aged 14, and her friend Emilia Forero, aged 13, succumbed to the poison and passed away in hospital shortly after consuming the tainted treat on April 3. Castro has denied any involvement in the killings.
Earlier this month, an Interpol Red Notice was issued to track down Castro, who had reportedly traveled through Brazil, Spain, and the UK after fleeing Colombia. The fugitive had been in the UK since November 11, prompting the National Crime Agency to intensify their search efforts, as reported by The Sun.
Ines de Bedout, 14, and her close friend Emilia Forero, 13, tragically died in hospital just days after eating the sweet treat on April 3. Castro denies the killings.
An Interpol Red Notice to find Castro was issued earlier this month, with authorities warning the fugitive had visited Brazil, Spain and the UK since leaving Colombia.
It’s understood Castro came to Britain on November 11 and the National Crime Agency were actively hunting for her, The Sun reports.
A Met Police spokesman told the Mail: ‘Police were called at 06:45hrs on Tuesday, 16 December to reports of a woman in distress on Battersea Bridge.
‘The Met’s Marine Policing Unit recovered a woman in her 50s from the water at 07.14hrs and she was taken to hospital, where her injuries have since been deemed not life-threatening or life-changing.’
Zulma Guzman Castro is alleged to have spiked the fruit with a deadly substance as an ‘act of vengeance’ after a secret affair with the father of one of the victims, according to reports in Colombia
Ines de Bedout, 14, and her close friend Emilia Forero (right), 13, tragically died in hospital just days after eating the sweet treat. Emilia’s father Pedro posted this photo of them earlier this month
Colombian law enforcement have now requested the assistance of UK police to detain Castro. It’s understood an arrest warrant was issued by Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this week.
If she is fit enough, Castro will be taken into custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ for an extradition hearing.
Earlier this month, an agonising social media post was published by Emilia’s devastated father Pedro Forero.
Pedro, speaking shortly before it emerged Colombian prosecutors had a suspect for the horror crime, said: ‘Fourteen years ago, a life of hopes, joys and dreams began; a life that filled a family, a father and a mother.
‘But it wasn’t just the joy of someone else’s life; it was the beginning of the life of an excellent human being who had dreams, hopes and goals.
‘As a father, it is incomprehensible to think that someone was capable of taking this away.
‘She did not just take away my dreams, my desires and my prospects in life as a father; she did not just take away my opportunity to be a father-in-law, grandfather and everything else one can be as a parent.
‘She took away my daughter’s opportunity to be a girlfriend, a professional, a wife, a mother and a daughter.’
The girls were reportedly spending time at a swanky apartment in Bogota, Colombia, with an older brother and another friend after school when they ate the fatal desert, said to have been laced with the highly dangerous poison.
The colourless, odourless and tasteless substance is commonly used in the manufacturing of electronics, optical lenses, semiconductors, alloys and radiation detection equipment.
It was allegedly injected directly into the raspberries before being sent to the girls on April 3 this year. Ines and Emilia are reported to have died four days later, according to Colombian media.
An agonising social media post published by Emilia’s devastated father Pedro Forero emerged earlier this month. Pictured: Emilia
Local media claims the businesswoman, who founded an electric car rental company named Car B, may have poisoned the girls in a calculated bid to take revenge on her former lover
In a gut-wrenching message alongside a photo of Emilia as a baby, Forero added: ‘Daughter, you will always be the greatest love I could ever feel as a father.
‘No girlfriend or wife could ever generate the love I felt when I had you, and I will carry this love with me until the last day of my life.
‘I love you and will love you for the rest of my life. I miss you. I am sorry I could not protect you from this broken world.
‘Despite the pain, I am glad to have had you in my life. I hope to have one last hug from you, even if it is only in my dreams.’
Prosecutors claim Castro used a courier firm to deliver the deadly desert.
Since then, investigators in Colombia have been working to determine how the teenagers died, before prosecutors called in Interpol to help arrest Castro who was reportedly having an affair with Ines’ father, Juan de Bedout.
Local media claims the businesswoman, who founded an electric car rental company named Car B, may have poisoned the girls in a calculated bid to take revenge on her former lover.
Another teenage girl who ate the poisoned raspberries, along with the 21-year-old brother of one of the victims, were hospitalised following the incident seven months ago.
Both survived, but the girl is said to have suffered lasting health problems.
The poison used was initially linked to the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko who died in a London hospital in November 2006.
