Beloved NYC plumber, 51, murdered after traveling to Colombia to meet potential new wife

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 00:29, 1 May 2026 | Updated: 00:47, 1 May 2026 A beloved New York City plumber was murdered after traveling to Colombia to meet a potential new wife. Nachum Israel Eber, 51, from the Belz Hasidic community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was found dismembered inside a bloodstained wardrobe that was dumped on a street in Bogota on Sunday. Eber, a divorced father, had found a possible new wife in the local Hasidic community, his close friend Motti Dresdner told the New York Post. He had traveled to the Colombian capital to supposedly meet her. Surveillance video captured Eber leaving his Airbnb rental in Bogota shortly after 9pm local time on April 21 before he disappeared. The wardrobe was spotted across the city days later, and it was later confirmed to contain Eber's dismembered remains. Eber was described by Dresdner as a 'gentleman in his prime' who was 'always talking about his future.' 'How he was going to get remarried and find a perfect bride, and have a beautiful life,' Dresdner told the outlet. 'To be cut off like this is very sad.' New York City plumber Nachum Israel Eber, 51, was found dead in Bogota, Colombia, on Sunday. He had traveled to the Colombian capital to meet a possible new wife Eber, a divorced dad from the Belz Hasidic community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was found dismembered inside a bloodstained wardrobe that was dumped on a street Surveillance video captured Eber leaving his Airbnb rental in Bogota around 9pm local time on April 21 Eber was clad in all black when he was captured leaving his Airbnb in the surveillance video. Dresdner said Eber's death was a 'terrible tragedy' and added that the murdered father 'wouldn't hurt a fly.' 'He was always kind, always with a smile,' Dresdner said. 'He always spoke positively. In his hardest times, he would always talk about how things are going to work out for the best.' Eber was remembered as someone who 'always tried to make lemonade out of lemons.' '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,' Dresdner said. Colombian authorities mistook Eber as a rabbi but friends insisted he was a plumber and building developer, according to the New York Post. Borough Park is home to about 96,000 Jews, per the UJA–Federation of New York.  Eber had found a possible partner in the local Hasidic community, according to a close friend Eber, a plumber and building developer, was remembered as someone who 'always tried to make lemonade out of lemons' Eber's family contacted the Israeli volunteer search and rescue response organization ZAKA for help arranging for his body to be released, PEOPLE reported. Yossi Landau, a commander with the South Region in Israel, told the outlet that Aber had disappeared on April 21. He was found last week but was not immediately identified since 'he didn't have any passport.' 'They took him to the medical examiner's office, and they did a search and the family got notified that it was him,' Landau said. The arrangements to release Eber's body were described as 'difficult' by Landau, particularly because 'this is a homicide.' He added that he had two objectives when it came to Eber's body. 'One is to try to avoid autopsy because that's in the Jewish law,' Landau said. 'We know that autopsy is forbidden.' Israeli volunteer search and rescue response organization ZAKA was contacted by Eber's family to help release his body Another shot of the wardrobe in which Eber's dismembered body was found The US Department of State is urging Americans to 'reconsider travel' to Colombia because of 'crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping' (Picture of Bogota) Landau added that Eber's killing was a 'difficult and painful incident of a Jew murdered far from home,' per the Times of Israel. 'We thank the local Jewish community in Colombia and all those working to bring him to Jewish burial as soon as possible,' Landau said. Initial findings from Colombian authorities indicated Eber had been ambushed by a local criminal gang who was attempting to rob him. Instead, they killed Eber before fleeing, the outlet added. Colombian lawmakers have reacted to Eber's alleged killing and dismemberment. Lorena Ríos Cuéllar, a Colombian senator, wrote Tuesday on X that she was 'demanding justice' and urged authorities to conduct a 'rigorous investigation.' 'Colombia must be a country where our fundamental rights are fully guaranteed and where we can all live and practice our faith without restrictions and without any fear,' Cuellar said. The Daily Mail has reached out to US Embassy in Colombia and ZAKA for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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