TRIBUTES have been paid to a “beautiful and loving” London mum who was found dead in a bag in a shallow grave in Peru.
Karla Zelaya Godoy, 37, travelled to the country last month for a romantic getaway with her 46-year-old boyfriend Jorge Alfredo Minaya Garay.
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But Karla was later reported missing by her family and on Wednesday night, police found human remains stuffed in a blue bag in a shallow grave after a chilling tip-off.
Officers are thought to have been sent a voice recording of a chat between Jorge and Karla’s brother Eric Zelaya, Peruvian newspaper El Comercio reports.
In the call, Jorge allegedly confessed to murdering Karla and burying her body under the patio at his grandmother’s house in a remote area in north Lima.
Karla’s boss has now paid tribute to the mum-of-one, describing her as a “beautiful soul” who “brought sunshine into everyone’s life with her carefree spirit and her loving nature”.
Karla, a Honduran-Spanish national, and Jorge both lived in London and worked at HMRC’s lorry park at Ebbsfleet, employed by Pioneer Facilities Management.
The company’s chief executive Mary-Jane Pettit said: “Her heart was so full of love for her daughter and family.
“Karla will be sadly missed and her friends and work family are beside themselves with grief.
“Our love and prayers are with Karla’s family at this very sad time.”
The company is now raising funds for Karla’s eight-year-old daughter, hoping to stump up £10,000 for the little girl.
Mary-Jane said she and her team were told on October 4 that the couple had gone missing – the day before they were due to return to work.
Within minutes they realised they could use an app which they use to keep in touch with remote employees to try and find Karla and Jorge.
Sales executive Sean Coleman contacted the software’s publishers, Connecteam, and alerted cops in the UK and various embassies.
Karla’s body was later found in Carabayllo in the north of Lima – a short distance from where the app showed her last known location.
It was also the location where Jorge allegedly confessed to burying her.
Detectives are now said to be hunting for him.
On Monday, Mary-Jane said the Spanish embassy in London told her Jorge had returned to the UK.
The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.
Karla and Jorge visited various tourist hotspots in Peru, including Machu Picchu and the capital city of Lima, sharing pictures of their dream trip on a WhatsApp group.
Karla reportedly last spoke to her mum on September 22 while she was in a taxi with Jorge to visit his grandmother in north Lima.
She told her mum she would be heading to Spain the next day – but she was never heard from again.
Cops in Peru launched an investigation into her disappearance on October 3 – 11 days after she vanished – initially believing she had been kidnapped.
But cops found human remains at Jorge’s grandmother’s house after allegedly receiving a recording of a phone call.
Police reportedly took more than 10 hours to recover the remains.
A spokesperson for the Peru Embassy in London told The Sun: “This Embassy is aware of the situation, while the Consulate General of Peru in London is currently carrying out the pertinent consultations with Peruvian authorities.”
It’s understood Jorge fled to Chile on October 1 and then bought a ticket back to London.
The Sun has contacted the Spanish Embassy for comment.
