On August 16 , the day after the 2007 Peru earthquake , the dismembered body of Gómez Menéndez was discovered by fishermen in a large blue suitcase that washed up on a beach at the Barranco District of Lima . Smith left the country on the same day . Police believe that the suitcase , which was found attached to thick green cords , had been kept submerged by a weight and broke free by the force of the quake ; the epicenter was located in the ocean 150 kilometers ( 93 mi ) south of Lima . Patricia Menéndez identified her daughter 's partially decomposed remains by a butterfly tattoo on the back of the neck and vowed to seek justice . The case attracted widespread attention in Peru and became known as " El Enigma de la Mariposa " ( " The Mystery of the Butterfly " )
2007 Peru earthquake
2007 Peru earthquake
William Trickett Smith II