Peruvian murder conviction in British court

A Peruvian man has been convicted of murdering his partner in Peru in a British court in a highly unusual case. 

Jorge Minaya-Garay had been living in Dartford, Kent with his girlfriend Karla Godoy, when they flew out to Peru together in September 2022. Karla never returned and her family raised the alarm when she failed to catch her flight home. 

Minaya-Garay returned to the UK on 4 October. When the Peruvian Police were looking for him, he called the police in Peru and Karla’s brother just over a week later to admit that he had killed Karla and had disposed of her body in his grandmother’s house in Lima, Peru. Karla’s body was found buried there and a post mortem concluded she had been strangled. 

In most similar cases, where a murder is committed abroad, the defendant would be extradited to that country to stand trial, but in this case, the defendant was in the UK when he confessed to the killing, so was arrested by the police. 

Libby Clark from the CPS said: “It was clear that the police needed to act, when reports came in of Minaya-Garay confessing to the murder of his partner. 

“Our legislation gave us the jurisdiction to take on the case, although usually the country where the crime was committed would extradite the individual to face justice there. However, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 gives courts the powers to try a defendant in this country and we will always consider using those powers, particularly in cases of domestic violence, wherever it might have occurred.

“The case presented many challenges, with witnesses in the trial flying to the UK from Peru, Honduras, where Karla was originally from, and Spain to give evidence. 

“It was a difficult case logistically to prepare for trial, but thanks to the continued hard work of prosecutors in our International Division, we were able to ensure that all the evidence and witnesses were available so that we could get justice for Karla. 

“Minaya-Garay claimed that he killed Karla in self-defence during an argument, after she came at him with a knife, but the evidence from those who witnessed his behaviour towards her suggested he was a bullying, controlling and jealous man. The jury saw through those lies.”