Two foreign citizens who would be involved in the murder of the United Nations journalist Natalia Castillo were sent to prison

The Attorney General´s Office established that one of the defendants participated directly in the crime and in the theft committed against two of the journalist´s friends in Bogotá. The other defendant was allegedly involved in accessing the banking products of one of the victims to obtain money.

In 49 days, the Office of the Attorney General, with the support of SIJIN Metropolitan Police in Bogotá, made progress in clarifying the murder of the communications consultant to the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Cindy Natalia Castillo Preciado, which took place on December 24, 2021, in Teusaquillo.

At the request of prosecutors, assigned to the so-called Unidad de Vida of the Sectional Office in Bogotá, two Venezuelan citizens who would be involved in the murder and theft committed against two friends of the journalist were sent to prison. The defendants are: Ángel Rolando Colina Lugo, alias Ángelo; and Javier Enrique Ramírez Gómez, alias Porky.

Searching for the truth

From the moment when the facts took place, the office of the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, appointed a specialized and inter-institutional group to address the investigations to find those people responsible.

As a result,  technical evidence was obtained, such as videos from 121 security cameras and interceptions of communications; in addition to testimonies and other elements which made it possible to identify the two foreign citizens and establish the criminal role they played.

These people were arrested on public roads in Paloquemao sector and Santa Fe neighborhood in Los Mártires. Two cell phones were seized during the proceedings. Simultaneously, a proceeding was carried out in a building and a Venezuelan citizen was arrested in flagrante delicto, in possession of five cell phones reported as stolen, two laptops, a tablet, and cash.

The detainee was identified as Jesús Vielman Requena and was charged with receiving stolen property and he received a custodial measure.

The crime

The investigation revealed that on December 24, 2021, at 2:55 a.m., Cindy Natalia Castillo Preciado and two of her friends left a commercial establishment in San Luis neighborhood, in Galerías sector. A few meters from the place they were intercepted by two men, one would be Ángel Rolando Colina Lugo who pointed a modified weapon at them and asked them to hand over their belongings.

A cell phone was stolen from one of the companions and a purse from the other one. The journalist for her part, hung on to her bag. She was thrown to the ground and dragged. Finally, the robbers shot her and escaped in a gray vehicle that was waiting for them, and then they went to Santa Fe neighborhood. The victim was transferred to the clinic named Clinica Palermo and there she died.

The Office of the Attorney General established that the aforementioned criminals accessed the mobile phone that they stole and extracted information from the owner’s financial products. That morning of December 24, at 5:06 a.m., they withdrew $600,000 in Medellín (Antioquia). Apparently, the money was withdrawn by Javier Enrique Ramírez Gómez, alias Porky.

They made several transactions without success. In one opportunity,  they took out a cash advance for $8,000,000 with a credit card, but there was a direct debit from the victim’s savings account and they could not obtain the money. Due to this, they made a withdrawal of $5,500,000 in cryptocurrency.

Prosecution

Due to these facts, and due to the possible role he played, the Prosecutor’s Office charged Ángel Rolando Colina Lugo, alias Ángelo, with aggravated homicide, aggravated robbery, and abusive access to a computer system.

On the other hand, Javier Enrique Ramírez Gómez, alias Porky, was charged with aggravated theft,  in a consistent sequence of serial crimes with abusive access to a computer system. The defendants did not plead guilty to the charges.

When we speak, results follow.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.