Peruvian police said Ruth Thalia Sayas Sanchez was poisoned and strangled to death after appearing on the reality show "The Value of Truth."
The 19-year-old contestant's disappearance was reported on September 12 and her body was found on Saturday at the Villas de Media Luna in Jicamara, two months after appearing on the show, according to Hispanically Speaking News. Sayas appeared on "The Value of Truth" accompanied by her parents and her boyfriend, Bryan Romero Leiva, as the concept of the show involves participants answering tough questions about their personal lives in front of an audience and loved ones.
While on the show Sayas admitted to twice accepting money for sex at the nightclub where she worked, reported CNN. Police accused Romero of killing his ex-girlfriend because he felt he deserved some of the 15,000 soles ($5700) she won on the show.
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After her disappearance, a friend told police Sayas wasn't dating Romero at the time of her appearance on the show and had convinced him to go by paying him, noted HSN.
The Daily Mail reported that Romero had the help of a relative when he hid her body in a well. The taxi driver was arrested this weekend as he tried to flee to Ecuador from Peru.
"My pride was wounded with my friends, with my family, with the way they look at me," Romero told Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.
After Saya's disappearance was reported, police questioned Romero, who initially claimed he was not guilty, according to HSN. He later confessed to police that he killed Sayas and led police to the scene of the crime.
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