This is the first picture of a mum who is reportedly pregnant again showing her with her two murdered daughters, and cops have now revealed she allowed them to be abused and killed in a sick ritual by their stepfather.
Police chief Anderson Resende Kopke confirmed in a press conference in the Brazilian city of Contagem yesterday (Thursday, 26th August) that sisters Ana, 10, and Stefane, 4, were killed by their stepdad, Lucas Melo da Silva, with the connivance of their mother, Deborah Almeida da Silva, who he revealed is also six months pregnant.
The police say the two children were beaten to death.
They believe the youngest was killed in the city of Divinopolis in late February or early March, with the couple then taking her corpse to dispose of in Contagem. It has still not yet been found.
Kopke said the two suspects will be charged with homicide, torture, and concealment of a human corpse.
According to the police, Deborah, aged 31, initially denied the charges, but she changed her version of events after asking for “permission” from her partner, which he “granted”.
Kopke also said that when the eldest child was given a savage beating in the latest crime, the couple had dinner while the victim vomited blood and died shortly afterwards.
The police say that the 25-year-old stepdad administered the beatings while the girls’ mother remained silent and failed to intervene.
The couple’s crimes were discovered when the eldest sister’s rotting corpse was found inside a makeshift housing unit by its owner, who then called the police on Tuesday, 24th August.
The 55-year-old man made the grim discovery after noticing a bad smell coming from one of the apartments in the unit.
Inside, he found bloodstains in the bathroom and a rolled-up bag under a bed. The bag was later found by the police to contain Ana’s decomposing body.
Lucas and Deborah were arrested shortly afterwards in the city of Belo Horizonte, where they had fled.
The police believe Ana was murdered between Friday, 20th August and Saturday, 21st August. According to Kopke, she was killed following an argument with her mum.
Kopke said that Deborah gave her daughter a shove before she was punched and beaten with flip flops and a broomstick by her stepdad.
News site D24am reported that Lucas had killed Stefane as a sort of ritual sacrifice to “compensate” for her mother’s miscarriage, which he believed her “presence” had caused.
Local news site Estado de Minas reported that Ana was killed so that her mother would not miscarry again.
D24am reported that Lucas raped and tortured Ana – including with a knife and a lit cigarette – in the days leading to her death.
Estado de Minas reported that Ana had been tortured over a period of months with sharp and blunt objects and suffered serious genital injuries as a result of the sexual abuse committed by her stepdad. The site also reports that Ana witnessed her younger sister’s murder.
Estado de Minas reported that Deborah’s ex-husband had been considered the prime suspect in the youngest girl’s disappearance until the couple’s latest confession.
Kopke described the pair as “a couple of religious fanatics”. He said: “They said they were possessed by these spiritual entities. And she (Deborah) submitted to Lucas. She saw him as a representative of these entities.”
The investigation is ongoing.
