A former soccer player has been detained on suspicion of beheading a friend and then incinerating his body. On the night of April 12th, firefighters responded to a grass fire in Clacavie, Chile, and found the burnt remains of a man.
Emergency personnel found a Bible next to the victim’s severed head. Police investigators suspect that the victim was tortured before being killed. Earlier this month, former Colombian national soccer player Abel Stibén Caravalli, 30, was arrested in Santiago. Surveillance camera footage reportedly shows him leaving a parking lot in the Chilean capital on a trolley. As NeedToKnow reported, prosecutors suspect the friend’s body was hidden inside the cart.
Authorities allege that Caraballi, assisted by another Colombian national working as a taxi driver, placed the body in the trunk of a car and took it to Curacavi. There, the suspects allegedly set the body on fire before fleeing.
In Colombia, Caravalli was linked as an amateur soccer player with Deportivo Cali, one of the most established clubs in the country. Prosecutors say he became part of a drug trafficking organization after establishing himself in Chile and eventually rose to a leadership position.
The victim was also Colombian and had a history of drug trafficking crimes. His identity has not been disclosed.
Prosecutors said he and Karabari had been friends for at least eight years through soccer.
Prosecutor Carmen Gloria Guevara told local media: “Before he was decapitated, he had multiple stab wounds, which would have been unnecessary if the intent was simply to kill.”
“The way they displayed, abandoned, burned and dismembered the bodies and left Bibles next to the victims’ heads clearly shows the hallmarks of organized crime.”
Initially, detectives suspected kidnapping for ransom, but as the investigation progressed, solving a case related to drug trafficking became the most likely motive.
During the raid, officers recovered drugs and firearms of various calibers, including one modified to resemble a military rifle.
Both Mr Karabari and the taxi driver, 51, are in custody. They are charged with aggravated murder in addition to weapons possession and drug trafficking charges. Prosecutors said two additional suspected gang members have been identified but remain at large.
