Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash
A man is suspected of shooting a young mum who he was engaged to in the head and then trying to claim that she had committed suicide after a row.
Larissa Quintino, 30, was found dead at her home, along with a revolver, by the emergency services in the municipality of Formosa, in the west-central Brazilian state of Acre, on Monday this week (2nd November).
They had been called to the scene by Larissa’s fiance, 41-year-old Hozannah Fonseca de Deus Filho, who claimed that the teacher had committed suicide. Neighbours, who heard a gunshot, also called the police.
However, when they arrived, Hozannah had fled the scene. He was immediately considered a suspect and the police went searching for him. They shortly apprehended him on a street in the city centre.
An autopsy performed on the woman’s body found that her gunshot wound had been fired at close range, but could not have been self-inflicted.
The victim’s family members also revealed that the pair had a turbulent relationship, with Hozannah frequently beating his fiancee. Her mother, Maria Helena Quintino, told local media: “He had already tried to kill her.”
The family also revealed that Larissa had taken out a restraining order on her fiance. Despite this, the couple still maintained their relationship.
Hozannah had previously been arrested in October 2019 on suspicion of domestic violence. Witnesses reported that during an argument, Hozannah throttled Larissa, pushed her into a car, and threw a brick at her.
The suspect has been placed in preventive detention as the police, who hope to try him on charges of femicide, investigate the case. The victim’s mum Maria told local media: “All I want in this life is for him to pay for what he did.”
Larissa was buried in Formosa on 3rd October.
She leaves behind a daughter, whose age and relation to the suspect have not been revealed.
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