American man sentenced to 42 years in prison for femicide of Colombian DJ

Poulos was found guilty of aggravated femicide, as well as crimes of concealment, alteration or destruction of evidence.

American John Poulos was sentenced on Tuesday to more than 42 years in prison by a Colombian court, after he was found guilty of aggravated femicide in the killing of a young Colombian DJ named Valentina Trespalacios, as well as crimes of concealment, alteration or destruction of evidence. The killing occurred in Bogotá in January 2023, and has since captured public attention in Colombia. Before her death, Trespalacios was beginning to gain success at music festivals and had been in a romantic relationship with Poulos since 2021, according to accounts from her family and lawyers who took her case. The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia said in a statement after the ruling that its prosecutors had proven that Poulos struck and suffocated his partner and tried to hide the body. “The security camera records show that the aggressor wrapped the victim’s body, hid it in a suitcase and abandoned it in a garbage container in the town of Fontibón, in the west of Bogotá. It was found there hours later by the authorities,” the AG office said. During Tuesday’s court proceedings, the judge considered that the evidence presented by the prosecutors was sufficient to determine Poulos’ guilt, imposing a prison sentence of 42 years and eight months – about five years less than what prosecutors had requested. Additionally, the judge prohibited Poulos from approaching or attempting to communicate with Trespalacios’ family for 20 years, and ordered that he be expelled from Colombia once he completes his sentence.