Tributes are being paid to Alessandro Coatti, a respected Italian molecular biologist, after his dismembered body was found in a suitcase near Santa Marta, Colombia.

Coatti, 42, had recently left his role at the Royal Society of Biology in London to volunteer and travel in South America.

He was researching local wildlife at the time of his death.

Authorities are offering a £9,000 reward for information, and the mayor vowed justice, The Guardian has reported.

Coatti was remembered as a passionate, warm, and intelligent scientist who played a key role in UK science policy and ethical research.

Written by B.C. Begley