A New York plumber and father of four was murdered during a trip to Colombia to meet a potential new wife, according to friends and local authorities.
The body of Nachum Israel Eber, 51, a member of the Boro Park Belz Hasidic community, was found inside a wardrobe left on a street in a remote area of Bogotá on Sunday, the New York Post reported.
A motive has not been released, but early reports indicated Eber had been targeted by a local criminal gang in what authorities believe was a robbery, the Times of Israel reported. The attackers have not been caught.
Eber was initially identified as a rabbi, though friends say he worked as a building developer and plumber. The divorced father had recently connected with a woman in Bogotá’s Hasidic community and travelled to South America to meet her, his friend Motti Dresdner told the Post.
“It’s a terrible tragedy,” Dresdner said. “A person, a gentleman in his prime. He was always talking about his future, how he was going to get remarried and find a perfect bride, and have a beautiful life. And to be cut off like this is very sad.”
Surveillance footage captured Eber leaving his Airbnb in the Colombian capital around 9 p.m. on 21 April. He was not seen again. Days later, a passer-by reported a bloody wardrobe on the other side of the city from where Eber had vanished. Authorities later confirmed it contained his remains.
