LONDON, ENGLAND - A woman accused of killing two teenage girls with poisoned raspberries in Colombia has been pulled from the River Thames, in a dramatic rescue.
On Tuesday, December 16, shortly after 7:00 a.m., local time, Zulma Guzman Castro was rescued alive from the water near Battersea Bridge, according to several U.K. outlets, including The Telegraph and The Times. Castro is the main person of interest in the deaths of two minors in Bogotá.
The girls died in April after allegedly ingesting raspberries contaminated with thallium, a highly dangerous and odorless metal. The victims have been identified as 14-year-old Ines de Bedout, and 13-year-old Emilia Forero, PEOPLE reported.
The chocolate covered fruit was delivered on April 3 and the girls died four days later. Interpol previously issued a red notice for Castro's arrest, but it has since been rescinded. Without naming the suspect, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said in a statement that on Thursday, December 18 that "Police were called at 06:45 hours on Tuesday, 16 December to reports of a woman in distress on Battersea Bridge."
"The Met's Marine Policing Unit recovered a woman in her 50s from the water at 07:14 hours and she was taken to hospital, where her injuries have since been deemed not life-threatening or life-changing," they added.
Colombian ambassador to the U.K., Laura Sarabia, confirmed that Castro, who is a businesswoman, was currently being treated at a London hospital. She said that under British law, authorities have to wait until Castro is discharged from the hospital before they can proceed with a formal arrest.
The investigation suggested that Castro, who previously appeared on Shark Tank Colombia, had allegedly been intending to harm her ex-boyfriend Juan de Bedout with the raspberries. Castro previously denied being behind the murders of the teenage girls.
Juan is the father of Ines, and Casto is accused of killing her and Forero in an alleged act of vengeance after the relationship ended. Castro left Colombia on April 13 before reportedly flying to Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. Investigators believe that Castro arrived in the U.K. on November 11.
Colombian authorities had made a request to the U.K. for her capture, and a warrant was issued by Westminister Magistrates Court for her arrest earlier this week. A spokesperson for the U.K.'s National Crime Agency told PEOPLE in a statement, "We are aware of the case but we are unable to comment further at this time."
Pedro Forero, the father of Emilia, paid tribute to his daughter in a social media post. "Daughter, you will always be the greatest love I as a father can ever feel. There is no girlfriend or wife that can generate the love I had when I had you, and with this love I will go until the last day of my life," he wrote to mark what would have been his daughter's 14th birthday.
"I love you and I will love you for the rest of my life. I cry for the stories we won't be able to live. I appreciate who you were and what you taught me. You were and will be the cutest thing I had in my life," he added.
On Tuesday, December 16, shortly after 7:00 a.m., local time, Zulma Guzman Castro was rescued alive from the water near Battersea Bridge, according to several U.K. outlets, including The Telegraph and The Times. Castro is the main person of interest in the deaths of two minors in Bogotá.
The girls died in April after allegedly ingesting raspberries contaminated with thallium, a highly dangerous and odorless metal. The victims have been identified as 14-year-old Ines de Bedout, and 13-year-old Emilia Forero, PEOPLE reported.
The chocolate covered fruit was delivered on April 3 and the girls died four days later. Interpol previously issued a red notice for Castro's arrest, but it has since been rescinded. Without naming the suspect, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said in a statement that on Thursday, December 18 that "Police were called at 06:45 hours on Tuesday, 16 December to reports of a woman in distress on Battersea Bridge."
"The Met's Marine Policing Unit recovered a woman in her 50s from the water at 07:14 hours and she was taken to hospital, where her injuries have since been deemed not life-threatening or life-changing," they added.
Colombian ambassador to the U.K., Laura Sarabia, confirmed that Castro, who is a businesswoman, was currently being treated at a London hospital. She said that under British law, authorities have to wait until Castro is discharged from the hospital before they can proceed with a formal arrest.
The investigation suggested that Castro, who previously appeared on Shark Tank Colombia, had allegedly been intending to harm her ex-boyfriend Juan de Bedout with the raspberries. Castro previously denied being behind the murders of the teenage girls.
Juan is the father of Ines, and Casto is accused of killing her and Forero in an alleged act of vengeance after the relationship ended. Castro left Colombia on April 13 before reportedly flying to Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. Investigators believe that Castro arrived in the U.K. on November 11.
Colombian authorities had made a request to the U.K. for her capture, and a warrant was issued by Westminister Magistrates Court for her arrest earlier this week. A spokesperson for the U.K.'s National Crime Agency told PEOPLE in a statement, "We are aware of the case but we are unable to comment further at this time."
Pedro Forero, the father of Emilia, paid tribute to his daughter in a social media post. "Daughter, you will always be the greatest love I as a father can ever feel. There is no girlfriend or wife that can generate the love I had when I had you, and with this love I will go until the last day of my life," he wrote to mark what would have been his daughter's 14th birthday.
"I love you and I will love you for the rest of my life. I cry for the stories we won't be able to live. I appreciate who you were and what you taught me. You were and will be the cutest thing I had in my life," he added.
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