New York plumber murdered on trip to Colombia to meet his potential new wife

A New York plumber and father-of-four was murdered during a trip to Colombia to meet his potential new wife, according to friends and local authorities.

The body of Nachum Israel Eber, 51, a member of the Boro Park Belz Hasidic community, was found inside a wardrobe left on a street in a remote area of Bogotá Sunday, according to the New York Post.

A motive has not been released but early reports indicated Eber had been targeted by a local criminal gang in what authorities believe was a robbery, theTimes of Israel reported. The attackers have not been caught.

Eber was initially identified as a rabbi, though friends say he worked as a building developer and plumber. The divorced dad had recently connected with a woman in Bogotá’s Hasidic community and traveled to South America to meet her, his friend Motti Dresdner told The Post.

“It’s a terrible tragedy,” Dresdner. “A person, a gentleman in his prime. He was always talking about his future, how he was going to get remarried and find a perfect bride, and have a beautiful life. And to be cut off like this is very sad.”

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Surveillance footage captured Eber leaving his Airbnb in the Colombian capital around 9 p.m. on April 21. He was not seen again. Days later, a passersby reported a bloody wardrobe on the other side of the city from where Eber had vanished. Authorities later confirmed it contained his remains.

The Independent has contacted the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá for comment.

Eber’s killing has sent shockwaves through his community, where efforts are now underway to return his body to the U.S. for burial.

“He wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Dresdner said. “He was always kind, always with a smile. He always spoke positively. In his hardest times, he would always talk about how things are going to work out for the best, he makes the best of everything. He always tried to make lemonade out of lemons.”

His friend added: “The community is devastated, the community is in shock, how a person goes there just to take care of personal business and end up like this. It just makes everything feel unstable.”

Colombian law enforcement officials have opened a formal murder investigation as his family works to bring him home, according to The Times of Israel.

“This is a difficult and painful incident of a Jew murdered far from home,” Yossi Landau, a member of humanitarian volunteer organization ZAKA, told the outlet. “We thank the local Jewish community in Colombia and all those working to bring him to Jewish burial as soon as possible.”

Eber is survived by his children and extended family, including 16 siblings living in Belz communities across the U.S., Canada and Israel.