A devastated father has paid a moving tribute to his teenage daughter after she and a close friend allegedly died from eating poisoned chocolate-covered raspberries in Colombia.
Alleged Act of Vengeance Leaves Two Girls Dead
Businesswoman Zulma Guzman Castro is accused of killing the two schoolgirls by spiking the fruit with thallium, a colourless and odourless heavy metal. Prosecutors allege this was an 'act of vengeance' following a secret affair with the father of one of the victims, 14-year-old Ines de Bedout.
Ines and her 13-year-old friend, Emilia Forero, tragically died in hospital just days after consuming the sweet treat on April 3 this year. Reports state the lethal substance was injected directly into the raspberries before they were sent to the girls.
A Father's Agonising Grief
Emilia's father, Pedro Forero, shared an emotional social media post as a picture of his daughter emerged. "Fourteen years ago, a life of hopes, joys and dreams began," he wrote. "As a father, it is incomprehensible to think that someone was capable of taking this away."
He added a heart-wrenching message alongside a photo of Emilia as a baby: "Daughter, you will always be the greatest love I could ever feel as a father... I hope to have one last hug from you, even if it is only in my dreams."
The girls were reportedly at a swanky apartment in Bogota with an older brother and another friend when they ate the fatal dessert. The 21-year-old brother and another teenage girl who also ate the poisoned fruit were hospitalised; both survived, but the girl is said to have suffered lasting health problems.
Suspect Denies Claims as Interpol Hunt Launched
Castro has fiercely denied any involvement. In a statement, she said, "I find myself in the middle of a very serious situation, where I'm being accused of having been the person who sent a poison that killed two girls." She insisted reports she had fled Colombia were false, claiming she was in Argentina for work and study.
However, Colombian prosecutors have called in Interpol to help arrest Castro, and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued, ordering police in 196 member countries to locate and detain her. Her current whereabouts are unknown.
Local media claims Castro, who founded an electric car rental company named Car B, may have poisoned the girls in a calculated bid for revenge on her former lover. The poison used, thallium, was infamously linked to the 2006 poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London.
