Concerned friends of a 37-year-old Colombian woman were on the phone to police when they found her dead inside her Christchurch home

Colombian woman Juliana Cayena Bonilla-Herrera was allegedly murdered insider her flat on Grove Road in Addington on Saturday night.

The New Zealand Herald reports friends of Bonilla-Herrera were advised by police they could enter the property if they felt safe to do so.

While still on the line, they discovered her body.

Detective Inspector Scott Anderson has told the Herald ideally it would have been police officers who entered the property, but they were comfortable with how the circumstances played out.

A 35 year old man has been charged with murder and will appear in the High Court on February 18.