A 21-year-old woman, eight months pregnant, was kidnapped and fatally stabbed in Cali, Colombia, with her unborn baby removed from her womb. María Camila Potosí disappeared on July 16 after leaving her home for a routine antenatal check.
Her body was found wrapped in sheets four miles from her residence on Monday. Police discovered she had sustained multiple stab wounds and that her unborn child, whom she had named Alahia, was missing. \n
CCTV footage captured Potosí getting onto the back of a motorcycle driven by a woman she had met approximately two months earlier through a support program for pregnant women. Investigators consider this woman a central figure in the ongoing investigation. The rider has reportedly altered her account to authorities.
Authorities are actively searching for the infant. Potosí's mother, Alba Gomez, has appealed for her granddaughter's safe return. "The only thing I ask with this appeal and with the hopeful faith I hold that my baby is alive – is for her to be found," Gomez stated to local media. "I ask that the people who have her search their hearts and return her to me."
Hours before her disappearance, Potosí had assisted a sick relative at her sister-in-law's home before her scheduled medical appointment. She informed her mother of a last-minute errand before heading to the clinic. Her husband reported her missing when she did not return home. \n
Potosí had recently shared videos of a gender reveal party where it was announced she would have a daughter. \n
The case is being investigated as a potential femicide, though no arrests have been made. Gerardo Mendoza, the Cali human rights ombudsman, has called for a "swift, exhaustive investigation with a gender focus," emphasizing that the "extreme gravity" of the crime "cannot go unpunished." Senator-elect Jennifer Pedraza and former presidential candidate Sondra Macollins have also publicly called for justice and rigorous answers from the authorities. \n
