A horrified grandmother found her baby granddaughter sleeping on top of her daughter’s body after her violent husband allegedly choked her to death.
Devastated Adriana da Silva had received a phone call from her son-in-law’s mother in the early hours of 16th October to tell her that the couple had had a row.
She went straight to their home in Sao Paulo, south-eastern Brazil and came across the shocking scene in the living room.
Victim Ana Carolina da Silva Santos Fernandes’s cousin Katia Tavares told local media: “When my aunt arrived at their home, her body was bloodied, all purple, suffocated.
“And her baby was on top of her body, as if she had been breast-fed and fallen asleep.”
The prime suspect is 35-year-old Fernando Fernandes dos Santos, who is believed to be on the run after first fleeing to his mother’s house.
He and Ana Carolina, 27, had tied the knot in 2020 following a troubled relationship.
Katia told local media: “Everyone was against their marriage because he was no longer a good person. He even attacked her a few times while he was living with her.
“This April, my aunt asked for a restraining order against him. But they split up and got back together again. My aunt told her to stay away from him, but she never did.”
Ana Carolina worked as an insurance broker and leaves behind a three-year-old son and two daughters, aged 11 and two.
The former two are from a previous relationship while the latter’s father is Fernandes dos Santos.
Police in Sao Paulo State are investigating the alleged crime as a femicide.
The search for the suspect is ongoing.
His lawyer Osmar Justino dos Reis has claimed he has not yet turned himself into police because he is hiding from death threats.
Adriana told local media: “The pain is immense. I lost my dear daughter, she was everything to me.
“I never imagined I would be choosing a coffin for her like I did today. It was terrible. And later, her funeral will be terrible.
“I don’t know what to do, I just hope they find him. He must be found. He must pay for what he did.
“I only want justice, as I can’t have my daughter back.”
