A circus clown who went missing during a tour has been found dead after being horrifically raped, strangled and set on fire by a killer high on crack cocaine.

Circus performer Julieta Ines Hernandez Martinez, 38, was part of a touring group of female clowns that travelled between venues on bicycles.

But Julieta had been cycling home for a break and was on her way to her family in Venezuela from Brazil when she was attacked by a couple who had offered to put her up for the night at their guest house.

Police named the couple as Thiago Angles da Silva, 32 and his girlfriend Deliomara dos Anjos Santos, 29.

As Julieta slept in a hammock, Silva grabbed her at knifepoint and bound her legs before telling Santos to drag her into the kitchen.

Silva, who had been smoking crack for three days say police, forced her to perform oral sex and then subjected Julieta to a brutal rape.

Following the brutal rape, say police, Santos doused Julieta with alcohol and Da Silva set her on fire.

Agonisingly Julieta survived the fire but then Da Silva strangled her and Santos tossed her body in a shallow grave reports local media.

Police from 37th Interactive Police Station of Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas State. Told local media the pair, who have five children together, confessed to the killing.

Julieta’s frantic family and friends contacted police when her phone stopped responding to calls and texts.

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Her body was only found two weeks later on 5th January when a passer-by spotted an abandoned bike frame just like Julieta’s hidden in undergrowth near the guest house.

Julieta’s remains were so badly decomposed that police told local media they cannot yet tell whether she died from strangulation, was burned to death or was buried alive.

Police spokesperson Valdnei Silva told local media: “During searches in the region. The police initially located parts of the bicycle that Julieta Hernandez was using, the equipment was nearby where the body was located.

“The location is close to a refuge where the woman was staying.”

Julieta was part of the group of artists and cycle travellers ‘Pe Vermei’ and was heading to her home country on the bike, finding a place to sleep along the way.

Friend Ana Melo told local media: “What we found strange was the fact that she didn’t warn us that she would have no signal.

“The messages simply stopped arriving and we were no longer able to locate her.”

In a social media post after her body was found, Circo di SoLadies. A feminist clowning group, said: “Our great Julieta, our Clown Jujuba carried her dreams on the bike and created smiles all over Brazil.

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“She’s gone. She’s been taken away from us. Her vivacity was a victim of femicide and her bike destroyed, as well as our hearts.

“Jujuba, unfortunately we did not find you in time. All this shows us how small we are in the face of such brutality.

“But you, with your giant greatness contained in your nose, taught us that we need to have the courage to keep pedalling.

“All we have is the memory of your smile and your will to live.

“Today, all the clowns in this country dream of you. We dream of a world where women can walk without fear, where children are free to play, where clowns only leave when their noses rest.

“In this world, Jujuba would have crossed through Brazil and managed to find her mum in her homeland.”