This is the moment an ex-cop and an associate carry a heavy bag – allegedly with the dead body of a sex worker inside – along the pavement in broad daylight.
The dead body of Julieth Jhoann Alvarez Mejia, a 22-year-old sex worker, was found in the bag close to Bolivar Park in the city of Bucaramanga in the Colombian department of Santander on Friday, 14th January.
According to the police, the suspect, named as former police officer Edwin Yesid Ardila, 33, went to Centennial Park in Bucaramanga to pick up a prostitute in the early hours of the fateful day.
He agreed to go back to the victim’s apartment and, apparently for no reason and under the influence of psychoactive substances, he suffocated the sex worker to death at around 5am, according to the local news site Vanguardia.
The victim’s body remained in the flat for almost 12 hours when, at around 5.30pm, Yesid Ardila allegedly arranged it in the fetal position and put it in a bag.
As seen in the CCTV footage, the suspect was subsequently filmed carrying the bag along the pavement with an associate who later turned him in, according to the news site Infobae.
Yesid Ardila allegedly told the associate, name not reported, that the bag was filled with rubble, and they dumped it on the corner of the streets Carrera 22 and Calle 39, where it was later found by a passerby.
The suspect’s associate reportedly informed the police, claiming he did not know there was a body in the bag and that Yesid Ardila had lied about its contents.
The suspect was subsequently arrested by the police.
During the charges hearing, it was revealed that the former cop was released from the police force over 10 years ago for drug addiction and mental health issues, according to Blu Radio.
Sonia Ayala, a psychologist who was consulted by the police, is quoted as saying: “He is a person with severe mental health issues. He did not even think about what he had done, the only concern he had was how to get rid of the body.”
The suspect is being held in custody as the investigation continues.
