John Poulos, a US citizen, was charged with the alleged killing of 23-year-old Valentina Trespalacios, a Disk Jockey in Columbia, multiple news outlets in the United States reported.
The body of Trespalacios was found by a recycler early in the morning last Sunday in Bogota, the capital city, inside a suitcase that was dumped in a garbage container. Local authorities later confirmed the identity.
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Who is John Poulos?
John Poulos was detained in Panama earlier on Tuesday based on an Interpol alert issued by the Republic of Columbia. The Panama Police said that Poulos was about to fly to Istanbul when he was taken into custody at the Tocumen International Airport. He was charged with the death of Trespalacios by the Columbia Police on Saturday.
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Poulos’ hearing at a court in Bogota lasted for more than five hours. With the aid of a translator, he denied the charges and pleaded not guilty to the murder of Trespalacios.
The court had detailed the relationship between Poulos and Trespalacious in an earlier hearing. The Columbian Prsecutor’s Office said that the police were able to produce over 300 hours of security footage where the two are seen together in the days prior to Trespalacios’ death.
Poulos’ defense said that there were flaws in the way he was arrested and the police in Columbia had not followed due process while detaining him. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 31.
It is not clear which US State Poulos is from. His whereabouts at home are also yet to be revealed. The authorities in the US have not yet responded to the charges against Poulos.
