A Brazilian man who stabbed his wife dead during a row over their rival football teams and released because of a loophole has demanded custody of their two children, who are currently under the care of their maternal grandparents.

Leonardo Souza Ceschini, 34, spent less than a month in prison after stabbing his wife, 34-year-old Erica Fernandes Ceschini, seven times in their apartment in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo in the early hours of 31st January.

Erica supported Palmeiras and her husband supported their arch-rivals, Corinthians, and he has admitted the killing took place during a row following Palmeiras’ one-nil victory over Santos in the Copa Libertadores final on 30th January.

The couple’s young twin sons have been under their maternal grandparents’ care since their mum’s violent death. However, the children’s father’s lawyer has since claimed that the youngsters are with them unlawfully.

In a communique issued by his lawyer, he stated that the children’s custody is “totally illegal and absolutely contrary to the will of the notifier” and that the youngsters’ maternal grandmother has “prevented any contact from their father and from their paternal grandparents”.

The suspect’s lawyer made these claims despite a judge granting provisional custody of the children to their maternal grandparents following the businessman’s arrest.

In the wake of the custody demand, the victim’s mother, Elida Fernandes, told local media: “Given what he did to their mother, how can he raise them?”

Elida’s lawyer, Maximo Silva, told local media: “This communique is solely intended to intimidate her.”

Elida has since filed a police report.

The suspect, despite confessing to committing the crime, was released after spending less than a month in preventive detention, as prosecutors failed to meet the deadline to press charges, ostensibly because new information had emerged about the case that required investigation.

It is unclear what this means for any future criminal trial, but the investigation into the suspect is reported still to be ongoing.

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