In a surprising development that merged the realms of reality TV and a heinous double killing, Zulma Guzman Castro, a 54-year-old former cast member of Shark Tank Colombia, has been arrested in London.
This arrest marks the end of an incredible international manhunt that did not take place in a boardroom but, rather, in the freezing Thames River. Castro is believed to have devised a murderous poisoning plan in Bogota, targeting her ex-lover but resulting in the death of two innocent teenage girls instead.
After jumping off Battersea Bridge in December and somehow living, Castro was kept in a mental hospital until the UK officials’ recent formal arrest, which was for the purpose of extradition.
Shark Tank Contestant Fatal Fruit
The probe focuses on an appalling occurrence in the month of April when 14-year-old Ines de Bedout and 13-year-old Emilia Forero took in raspberries that had been poisoned with thallium.
This imperceptible poison was said to be intended for Ines’s father, who had a very rocky relationship with Castro. The girls, however, were not the intended victims and suffered for four days before dying of poisoning.
The incident did not stop with the girls, as one more teenager was left with lifelong disabilities and a 21-year-old man’s hospitalization resulted. The facts of this case are powerful testimony to the premeditated nature of the crime, as the choice of thallium pointed to a murderer who wanted to circumvent the law through a slow poisoning process.
Shark Tank Contestant Global Fugitive
After the gruesome murders, Castro, who was recognized in 2021 for her carpool startup in Shark Tank, left Colombia and went to the UK. She was still a fugitive, but in media interviews, she kept on claiming her innocence and even hinted that she was being used as a scapegoat because of her already complicated love life.
Her fleeing from justice and subsequent suicide attempt in London did nothing but increase the legal scrutiny upon her. As she remains in Colombia, the victims’ families are still in sorrow.
Recently, Pedro Forero, the father of Emilia, made a very sad tribute by characterizing his daughter as the most beautiful love of his life and this is the very feeling that reveals the large human cost of this notorious betrayal.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
