Colombian DJ Valentina Trespalacios, 23, was found strangled to death in Bogota in 2023, and now her American boyfriend John Poulos, is on trial, accused of her murder

Poulos, 36, said in court he did not remember strangling Valentina Trespalacios, to death after the two had sex – “I wasn’t completely lucid at that time, and I don’t know if I did it, I don’t know if she did it”

He testified that he and Trespalacios who was 12 years younger, did drugs together and washed them down with alcohol

That combination he claimed, gave him a bad reaction and impaired both his judgment and memory on the night of Jan 22, 2023

He fled Colombia but was arrested in Panama on January 24, 2023, a day after her body was found inside a suitcase in a dumpster in Bogotá

‘I put Valentina into the garbage’ – The divorced dad admitted in court to stuffing girlfriend in suitcase, but can’t recall killing her

Poulos faces up to 50 years in a Colombian prison, if convicted

Murder suspect John Poulos who fled Colombia after allegedly killing his girlfriend, is seen after his arrest in Panama the divorced dad-of-three, said he made a “horrible decision” to escape to Panama, where he was detained

A 36-year-old divorced Texas man accused of killing his much younger DJ girlfriend during sex in Colombia, before fleeing the crime scene, testified on Wednesday that he could not remember strangling her while high on drugs.
Murder suspect, John Poulos, however admitted to stuffing the body of Valentina Trespalacios, 23, in a suitcase and tossing it in the trash.
Poulos then fled the Colombian capital of Bogota that day on a flight from to Panama. He was arrested there two days later and was extradited to Colombia to face charges for the femicide of his girlfriend. The body had been found in a dumpster a day earlier.

Colombian DJ Valentina Trespalacios, [photo], 23, was found strangled to death in Bogota in 2023. Her American boyfriend is on , trial for her murder. John Poulos from Texas, allegedly had plans of settling in Colombia and marrying Trespalacios. He was arrested in Panama on January 24, 2023, a day after her body was found inside a suitcase in a dumpster in Bogotá

The night of the murder the pair attended Sahara nightclub in Bogotá and the rideshare app driver who drove the couple said he’d sensed Trespalacios was in trouble when she showed him a message on the company app that said, ‘Help, I am in danger.’

Taking the stand in court in Bogota on Wednesday, John Poulos, 36, described the moment he claimed he woke up to find Valentina Trespalacios dead in bed next to him, with a zip tie the couple had used as a sex toy tightened around her neck, reported CBS58.
“I tried to wake up Valentina, and she didn’t respond,” Poulos said through a Spanish translator.
“When I initially saw her, I knew right away that something was wrong. She was very pale.”
Poulos, a father of three working as an investor with a securities company, said he had spoken to the popular young DJ with a large Instagram following every day for nine months leading up to their meeting in person.

John Poulos, [left], 36, told the court that he did not remember strangling his 23-year-old girlfriend Valentina Trespalacios, [right], to death after the two had sex. The pair met on a dating app in 2022. He moved to Bogota in 2023 and the pair reportedly planned to marry

Poulos met the glamorous brunette 12 years his junior on a dating app in 2022 and had planned to marry her.
Poulos, a father of three working as an investor with a securities company, said he had spoken to the popular young DJ with a large Instagram following every day for nine months leading up to his ill-fated trip to Colombia to meet her family in January 2023.
“I loved her,” he told the court. “So, imagine killing someone that you loved.”
Poulos said he and Trespalacios did drugs together and washed them down with alcohol, a combination he claimed gave him a bad reaction and impaired both his judgment and memory on the night of January 22, 2023.

John Poulos is captured on camera lifting a suitcase that contained the body of his dead girlfriend, Valentina Trespalacios, inside a Volkswagen Voyager. He then fled Bogota

Poulos admitted on the stand to stuffing his girlfriend’s body into a suitcase and throwing it in the trash – “My guess is what happened, I was in a drug-induced, alcohol-induced… I wasn’t completely lucid at that time, and I don’t know if I did it, I don’t know if she did it”

“I’d never done drugs before I met Valentina,” he said. “My guess is what happened, I was in a drug-induced, alcohol-induced… I wasn’t completely lucid at that time, and I don’t know if I did it, I don’t know if she did it.”
Poulos, however, did admit to making a “horrible decision” to dispose of his girlfriend’s body and flee, which he blamed on his panicked state.
“I decided to try to escape and I put her body into the blue suitcase that I had brought,” he said from the stand.
“That’s when I put Valentina into the garbage.”

Trespalacios [photo], moved in with her American fiancé just days before her body was found in a construction dumpster in Bogota. An autopsy report indicated that Trespalacios was strangled with a rope and that her body was bruised 

After dumping Trespalacios’ body, Poulos fled to Panama. He arrested four days later trying to board a flight to Turkey, en route to Montenegro, which does not have an extradition treaty with either the US or Colombia

A homeless man rummaging through the dumpster near Bogota’s main airport later made the gruesome discovery and alerted police.
An autopsy found that the 23-year-old woman died from “mechanical asphyxia,” or “strangulation.”
Poulos tried to excuse his actions by saying that he was facing a “life or death” situation.
“If I go to prison, I’m likely to be killed there,” he recalled thinking.
“If I go to trial, I didn’t think my rights would be observed,” he said. “But either way, I regret making that decision to put her in the suitcase.”
After dumping the body Poulos fled to Panama, but the fugitive was arrested a day later in Panama, while trying to board a flight to Turkey.
His final destination allegedly, was Montenegro, a country which does not have an extradition treaty with either the US or Colombia. Subsequently he was extradited to Colombia to face charges.
If convicted Poulos could face up to 50 years in a Colombian prison.