A woman who was found dead after she flew to Peru to meet a man she met online could have been killed for her organs, authorities have said.
Fifty-one-year-old Blanca Arellano, from Mexico, met a Peruvian man on a gaming app and after several months of talking online, she travelled more than 3,000 miles to meet him in real life.
Arellano’s family say she flew out to Lima on October 31 to meet 37-year-old Juan Pablo Jesús Villafuert.
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She last communicated with her family a week later on November 7, when she told niece Karla Arellano that things were progressing well and they were getting along.
However, as days passed without any further communication from Arellano, her niece posted on Twitter in an attempt to track her down.
In the post, Karla said the family ‘feared for her life’.
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“I never thought I would be in this situation, but today I’m asking for your support to spread this post and find one of the most loved and important people of my life. My aunt Blanca Olivia Arellano Gutiérrez disappeared on Monday November 07 in Peru. We fear for her life.”
Desperate to get some answers, Karal also reached out to Villafuerte, who told her that her aunt had ‘decided to return to Mexico’.
In another post on Twitter she wrote: “They were in Huacho and she left for Lima by her own means to later go to Mexico but that has not happened.”
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On November 9, a local fisherman found a faceless head in the port of Huacho, according to El País.
Later on, an arm and a torso - minus its organs - were also found, as well as a single finger wearing a ring.
Authorities were able to eventually determine that the body parts were Arellano after her family were able to identify the ring.
On November 17, Villafuerte was arrested by police and named as the chief suspect in Arellano’s murder and investigators are looking into whether the killing was related to organ harvesting.
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Peru's General Attorney Zoraida Ávalos told local media: “Juan Pablo Villafuerte was arrested on charges of human organs trafficking.”
Authorities believe he did not act alone.
In a post on Twitter, Arellanos heart-broken niece wrote: “We have no words to express what we are experiencing.
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“My aunt was a kind, warm person, full of light, intelligent, dedicated, loving and that is how she should be remembered.
“We believe in Peruvian laws and we fully trust the authorities to make it happen as they have done an impeccable job so far. It’s time to raise your voice and ask for #JusticiaParaBlanca.”
Topics: Crime, World News, True crime
Claire Reid