Italian scientist’s remains found in Colombia spark multinational investigation

An Italian scientist has been found dead in Colombia, according to local authorities, after several pieces of a human body were discovered lying on a path in the coastal city of Santa Marta on Sunday.

City police said their investigation showed that a bracelet found on the remains belonged to Alessandro Coatti, a biologist who had recently embarked on a trip through South America. More remains were later found at two other locations around the city.

Coatti had been staying at an establishment in the city and had presumably been visiting the scenic shoreline Tayrona area on April 5, police said. But what happened to him remains the subject of an urgent investigation by local authorities.

“At present there is no further detail about what happened; it is under investigation,” read information provided by the Colombian prosecutor’s office on Thursday. “It is not yet known what occurred or where.”

Only three pieces of his body have been recovered, it also said.

Santa Marta mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello has vowed to find those responsible; in a public notice on Monday, the city described Coatti’s death as a homicide and announced a 50 million peso (approximately US$11,300) reward for information that would help Colombian authorities.

Coatti had worked in London for the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) for eight years before leaving the organization in 2024 to travel South America, the organization said.

“Ale was funny, warm, intelligent, loved by everyone he worked with, and will be deeply missed by all who knew and worked with him. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to his friends and family at this truly awful time,” the RSB said in a statement, calling him a “passionate and dedicated” scientist who led the group’s animal science work.

Rome’s chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi said Coatti had visited Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador before travelling through Colombia, alone, according to Italian state broadcaster RAI.