A Colombian fugitive, wanted in connection with the alleged thallium poisoning of two schoolgirls, has been captured in the UK after a dramatic rescue from the River Thames by a volunteer lifeboat crew.
From International Manhunt to Icy Thames Rescue
Zulma Guzman Castro, 54, was dramatically pulled from the icy waters near Battersea Bridge in west London on December 16 by the RNLI's Chiswick branch. She had been evading an international police hunt for months, having left Colombia on April 13 last year, following the deaths of the two teenagers.
Castro is alleged to have killed Ines de Bedout, 14, and her friend Emilia Forero, 13, who both died in a Bogota hospital days after eating chocolate-covered raspberries laced with the deadly poison thallium on April 3, 2025. The former star of Colombia's version of Dragons' Den was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and was known to have travelled through Brazil and Spain before arriving in the UK on November 11.
The Unusual Rescue and a Startling Discovery
Commander James Anthony, who led the rescue, described spotting what looked like "a small bird trying to fly out of the water" which turned out to be Castro's arms flailing in the Thames. His crew, composed of a former postman, an ex-soldier, and a retired businessman, found her behaviour oddly resistant.
"While we don't expect hugs and kisses whenever someone is rescued from the Thames, it was quite odd that she seemed so determined not to be assisted," Mr Anthony remarked. After administering first aid and a warm blanket, they handed her over to the London Ambulance Service at a Chelsea pier, unaware of her identity.
It was only the next day, after a police officer friend forwarded a news link, that the lifeboat volunteers discovered their casualty was a fugitive wanted internationally for murder. "You might outrun Interpol but you'll never outpace Chiswick lifeboat," Mr Anthony later stated in a blog post.
Complex Motives and Eventual Arrest
The alleged motive is reported to be an "act of vengeance" linked to Castro's secret six-year affair with Juan de Bedout, Ines's father, which lasted from 2014 until shortly before his wife's death in August 2021. Colombian media report that police are also investigating whether Castro was involved in the death of Mr de Bedout's wife, who is believed to have been poisoned with thallium twice before succumbing to cancer.
After her rescue, Castro was held in a psychiatric unit until her arrest by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on January 6, 2026. She appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court the same day for an extradition hearing. Her location in the UK had reportedly been hinted at weeks earlier when she was spotted drinking from a bottle of Buxton water during a Colombian TV interview, a brand predominantly sold in Britain.
Castro continues to deny the allegations, claiming she is an easy target due to her past relationship. The NCA confirmed her arrest in the W10 area of London, marking the end of a sprawling international search that concluded not in a dramatic police raid, but in the cold, dark flow of the Thames, thanks to the vigilance of local lifeboat volunteers.
