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Tributes have been paid to a London-based scientist who formerly worked for the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) after he was found murdered in northern Colombia.
Alessandro Coatti’s remains were discovered on the outskirts of Santa Marta, a port city on the Caribbean coast, on Sunday, investigators say.
Santa Marta’s Mayor, Carlos Pinedo Cuello, said a reward of 50,000,000 Colombian pesos (£8,940) was being offered for information leading to the capture of those responsible for the death of the Italian citizen.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the RSB said it was “devastated” by news of Mr Coatti’s killing.
“He was a passionate and dedicated scientist, leading RSB animal science work, writing numerous submissions, organising events and giving evidence in the House of Commons,” the RSB 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.”
Santa Marta is a gateway to some of Colombia’s most popular tourist destinations including Tayrona National Park, Minca and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains.
Mr Coatti, who took a master’s course at University College London (UCL), worked for the RSB for eight years as science policy officer before being promoted to senior science policy officer.
He left the RSB at the end of 2024 to volunteer in Ecuador and travel
