Cops in Brazil have arrested a man for stabbing his lawyer sister to death over a suspected inheritance feud.

Joao Paulo Mourao was arrested by the police on 15th February for stabbing his 41-year-old sister, Izadora Santos Mourao, to death two days earlier.

According to the police, bloodied clothes and a knife used to commit the crime were found in her room in the house she shared with her brother and mother in the municipality of Pedro II in the Brazilian state of Piaui.

Izadora’s dead body was reportedly found in her room by family members on 13th February. According to the police, the lawyer had seven knife wounds, including to the neck.

Joao Paulo told the police at the time that a woman named Maria had visited the house and committed the crime, leaving before he and his mother found Izadora dead.

He implied that the woman was part of a criminal organisation and killed his sister because she worked as a criminal lawyer.

The police, however, now believe this version of events was invented by the family to mislead the investigation, and officers now suspect Joao Paulo killed his sister over an inheritance feud.

They are also investigating the siblings’ mother Maria Nerci for providing a false alibi to cover up for her son and even paying a cleaner to remove the bloodstains from her daughter’s room.

Officers also want to hear from the suspect’s aunt and cousin, in whose homes knives were found.

The prime suspect is currently being held at a police station in the Piaui state capital of Teresina while the investigation continues.

The Piaui section of the Order of Attorneys of Brazil has expressed its regret at the lawyer’s death and hopes justice will be served.

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