A New York rabbi was found dismembered and stuffed inside a bloodstained wardrobe after he was attacked and killed in Colombia, local media reported.
Nachum Israel Eber’s remains were discovered inside the abandoned closet after it was dumped on a street in Bogota on Sunday, just days after his family reported him missing, according to local reports.
Eber, 51, was a father and a member of the Belz Hasidic community in Brooklyn’s Boro Park. He had traveled to Colombia earlier this month to advise a congregation of Catholics who had converted to Judaism, the reports said.
Authorities began searching after relatives in New York reported that Eber had abruptly gone silent and stopped answering calls.
Surveillance video captured Eber leaving his Airbnb just after 9 p.m. April 21 before he vanished, according to reports.
Days later, residents reported spotting a blue wardrobe with bloodstains around it on a street on the opposite side of the city, local media said.
Rabbi Nachum Israel Eber
Authorities have since confirmed the remains were those of the missing rabbi, according to the reports.
Investigators have not announced a motive. Local reports said authorities believe he may have been targeted by a gang that focuses on tourists.
Officials believe he was likely killed during a robbery in which attackers stole his belongings and identification documents, local media reported.
Eber’s family is working to have his remains transported to Israel for burial.
They are also coordinating with Colombian authorities and attempting to prevent an autopsy as part of the investigation, local media reported.
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