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Who is Ashley Poulos? Valentina Trespalacios' murder suspect John Poulos had restraining order from wife

John Poulos' ex-wife, Ashley Poulos, filed a restraining order against the 35-year-old due to his repeated act of violence

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BOGOTA, COLOMBIA: In a recent horrifying instance, it was discovered that a Texas man, John Poulos, reportedly become sexual with his DJ girlfriend before strangling her to death. As details emerge, it is now revealed that John Poulos' ex-wife, Ashley Poulos, filed a restraining order against the 35-year-old due to his repeated act of violence. John shares three children with Ashley before they got separated in the United States. On Friday afternoon, January 27, John made his second court appearance in the capital city of Bogotá, less than a week after 23-year-old Valentina Trespalacios' body was found stuffed inside a suitcase in a dumpster. 

John repeatedly beat Trespalacios with closed fists after having sex with her and then choked her to death, according to Daily Mail. While the prosecutor made the shocking revelations, John remained seated next to his lawyer and a court-appointed interpreter. It was also disclosed that John allegedly contorted Trespalacios’ body to make her fit into the suitcase. Her head was allegedly left sticking out of the luggage bag and was covered with a towel.

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John was caught on camera on Sunday, January 22, while placing the suitcase into the trunk of a Volkswagen Voyager in the garage of the Bogotá north side apartment building and then driving away. He sped to the south side of Bogotá where he tossed the luggage bag inside a dumpster next to a park and then drove towards the airport. The prosecutor claimed that the killer threw away Trespalacios' cell phone at El Dorado International Airport before boarding a flight to Panamá City, Panamá as a part of his escape. 

The 35-year-old chalked out a shrewd plan which included booking two flight tickets- one from Panamá City to São Paulo, Brazil, to throw off the Colombian National Police's international manhunt and the second one being a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, where he would connect to a plane to Montenegro. John was well aware of what he was doing as there is no extradition treaty with Colombia.

Just moments before he was about to board Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, Panamanian immigration agents and the Interpol arrested him on Tuesday night, January 10, at Tocumen International Airport. He told the authorities that he fled Colombia as cartel members wanted to kill him and that his girlfriend was murdered by the defunct Medellín Cartel. 

How did John Poulos kill Valentina Trespalacios?

John reportedly had sex with his 23-year-old partner Trespalacios before he choked her to death. He also repeatedly hit her with closed fists before murdering the young DJ, as per the news outlet. John even went to the extent of allegedly bending the woman's lifeless body to fit her into the suitcase. Her head was however left sticking out of the luggage bag. He was caught in the act on camera on Sunday, January 22, while he placed the suitcase into the trunk of a Volkswagen Voyager in the garage of the Bogotá north side apartment building before driving away. 

Why did John Poulos kill Valentina Trespalacios?

Although no specific reason was given as to why he killed her, the duo dated for eight months and John planned to marry Trespalacios, as per Daily Mail. Trespalacios' hairstylist, Veronica Jiménez, said that John had reportedly become increasingly jealous and was upset with his partner for not revealing their relationship publicly on social media accounts. Trespalacios had explained to him that her network was only to promote her DJ work.

He reportedly arrived a the apartment on Thursday, January 19, and moved in with Trespalacios on Friday evening. He accompanied her to a DJ gig early Saturday morning at Nexxus bar. 

What sentence and charges is John Poulos looking at?

John Poulos, 35, the father of one boy and two girls in the United States, is accused of four counts - aggravated femicide, concealment, alteration, and destruction of evidence of a crime scene. The prosecutor said that if John decides to go to trial and is found guilty of murdering Trespalacios, he could be sentenced to 500 to 600 months in prison. He was given an offer of a reduced sentence to 375 months if he accepts a guilty plea. The judge would have to accept the terms of the agreement and John wouldn't be allowed to back out of it if he agreed.

John Poulos' family and life in the US

According to Jiménez, John's oldest son, Jackson Poulos, was only four years old when doctors diagnosed him with stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma in his GI tract and abdomen, as per Daily Mail. It is a very rare form of cancer, with only about 350 cases taking place a year in the United States.

The reportedly child underwent a 13-hour operation in 2017 during which the surgeon removed more than 150 tumors that were detected in his pelvis, sigmoid colon, appendix, spleen, and gallbladder. John's oldest son was also a special guest of former House Speaker Paul Ryan at the House Chamber for former President Donald Trump's message to a joint session of the United States Congress on January 30, 2018.