COLOMBIAN authorities are investigating the brutal murder of a homeless woman who had her baby stolen from her slashed-open womb, allegedly by a paid hitman.

Police found the mutilated body in Soacha last week, near the capital Bogota. At 37 weeks, the victim had been near the end of her pregnancy.

The woman’s throat had been slit and her abdomen cut open to remove the foetus, said Soacha mayor Juan Carlos Saldarriaga on a local radio station yesterday.

The murder was allegedly committed at the request of another woman who had a miscarriage and paid a man the equivalent of US$4,000 (RM17,000) to get her the baby.

Saldarriaga said the victim was apparently lured to a remote rural area with a promise of food.

The baby survived the attack and is in state care, though officials did not say whether it was found with the alleged mastermind, who has been arrested.

The man who carried out the attack is still on the run. – AFP, April 20, 2022.