The charred body of a beautiful model has been found gagged in a burned-out home in a killing that is baffling police.
Victim Larissa dos Santos Correia, 23, was found with a cloth wrapped around her mouth at the property on the idyllic island of Ilhabela, off the Sao Paulo coast, in Brazil.
Police believe the crime took place at around 10.30pm on Saturday, 9th April.
Her body was only discovered when a neighbour called firefighters when she noticed the property was ablaze.
They found Larissa’s charred corpse stretched out on a bed.
Police are now seeking a man caught on CCTV entering and leaving the property moments before the fire broke out.
They do not currently know the motive for the alleged crime.
Investigators also noted that the young woman’s two mobile phones were nowhere to be found in the property.
Larissa, who hailed from Praia Grande and lived in Santos – both further down the Sao Paulo coast – worked as a model and also reportedly as an escort.
According to a friend, she had only arrived in Ilhabela on the day of the crime.
She was buried in Santos on Tuesday, 12th April. She leaves behind a young daughter.
In a tribute to the victim on social media, one acquaintance described her as “always playful and fun”.
The autopsy report has not yet been released, but it is possible that the model was suffocated before the property was set alight.
The investigation continues.
