Colombian authorities said Nachum Yisrael Eber was found with multiple injuries after disappearing during a temporary trip to the country.
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Colombian authorities are investigating the killing of Nachum Yisrael Eber, a 51-year-old Brooklyn rabbi whose body was found in Bogotá after he disappeared during a temporary visit to the Colombian capital.
Eber, a member of the Belz Hasidic community in New York, was reported missing after relatives lost contact with him April 21. His body was later identified by Colombia’s National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences through dental records provided by relatives through the U.S. Embassy. Authorities have opened a homicide investigation and are reviewing security video, phones and digital accounts to determine who he met before he died.
The case drew wide attention after early reports described a violent discovery in Bogotá. Colombian officials have since said some of those first accounts went too far. Lt. Col. Óscar Chauta, commander of the Bosa police station, said the body did not show signs of dismemberment but did have multiple blows. Investigators are still working to establish the time, manner and place of the killing. Local reports said the body was found inside a wardrobe or closet in the south of the city after an emergency call led police to the area.
Security video has become a central part of the timeline. Local media reported that cameras showed Eber leaving a residence in the Niza neighborhood of Suba, in northern Bogotá, after 9 p.m. April 21. He was wearing dark clothing and a dark cap or beret. Investigators are using that footage, along with cameras from Suba and the Brasilia area, to trace what happened between the time he left his lodging and the time his body was found. Officials have not announced any arrests.
Investigators have not settled on a public motive. The Attorney General’s Office has said the case remains under investigation and that authorities are not ruling out or confirming any single theory. A robbery remains one of the leading possibilities discussed in local and international reports. Authorities are also examining whether the killing could be linked to criminal groups that target foreign visitors through arranged meetings or online contacts. Officials have not publicly named any suspects or released evidence tying a specific gang to the killing.
Eber was a U.S. citizen based in New York and had been in Colombia only temporarily, according to people familiar with his visit. The Israeli Consulate in Bogotá clarified that, while Eber was on a religious advisory trip, he was an American citizen who lived in New York. His presence in Bogotá coincided with Passover. One person who saw him at a synagogue said he had come for the holiday and expected to leave the following week. Reports also described him as a father and a member of a large Belz Hasidic family with relatives in the United States, Canada and Israel.
The investigation has involved Colombian authorities, the U.S. Embassy and members of the Jewish community. Officials said dental records helped confirm Eber’s identity after he was taken to the medical examiner. ZAKA, an Israeli emergency response organization, was contacted by the family to help with the release and transfer of his remains. Yossi Landau, a ZAKA commander, said the group’s work in a homicide case includes dealing with local rules while trying to arrange burial as quickly as possible and avoid an autopsy when permitted by authorities.
Colombian Sen. Lorena Ríos Cuéllar condemned the killing and called for a rigorous and transparent investigation. She said those responsible should be identified, prosecuted and punished under the law. Community representatives have also pressed for the body to be released for burial. For now, investigators are focused on the last hours before Eber vanished, including who contacted him, where he traveled after leaving Suba and how his body ended up in the south of Bogotá.
The case remained open Thursday, with no public arrest or charging announcement. The next key developments are expected from forensic findings, security camera reviews and the analysis of Eber’s phones and digital accounts.
Author note: Last updated April 30, 2026.