A teenage boy and his dad’s attractive young girlfriend have been arrested after the former allegedly shot his dad dead and chopped up his body with a knife and hammer before the two allegedly hid his body parts.
The boy was arrested on Monday, 27th September, with the arrest of the victim’s girlfriend taking place on the following day.
According to police chief Rodrigo Jatai, the 16-year-old boy, who was not named, killed his dad, 38-year-old Rafael Ferreira Barbosa, with a shot to the head following an argument between the pair in Barbosa’s apartment in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza on Thursday, 23rd September.
The pistol used in the alleged crime belonged to Barbosa.
Jatai said: “The teenager stated that he fell into despair following the crime, and he decided to chop off his father’s lower and upper limbs using a knife and a hammer.”
According to the boy’s statement to the police, the victim’s girlfriend, 21-year-old Sara Nascimento Parente de Morais, was inside the apartment when the crime took place.
Jatai said: “When she heard the gunshot, she left the room, at which point the teenager pointed the gun at her and ordered her to go back into the room, tied her up, and kept her hostage for 24 hours.”
The following day, the teen used his dad’s car to transport the limbs, which he had kept in the freezer overnight, to another location in the city, where he dumped them in a cardboard box.
He told the police he then returned to his dad’s apartment and released the young woman, and the two then decided to hide the victim’s head and torso.
Jatai said: “He talked to his father’s partner. She initially wanted to call the police, but she didn’t think they would believe her. So, in agreement with the teenager, they decided to dump the body on the Ring Road, as it was already giving off a bad smell and could have attracted the neighbours’ attention.”
The victim’s head and torso were found beside a stretch of the Ring Road in the neighbouring city of Maracanau on Sunday, 26th September.
The police investigation began following the find, and the investigators were able to identify the car that had transported the body parts from CCTV footage.
They found the car parked at the victim’s apartment block, where they found the victim’s son. They searched the apartment and found the pistol, prompting the teen to confess all.
He was arrested and was found to already have a criminal record for illegal possession of a firearm. Morais was arrested the following day at the clothing store she worked at.
Despite it appearing as if Morais had been coerced into participating in the crime, her preventive custody was ordered by the Judiciary on Tuesday, 28th September, with Judge Adriana da Cruz Dantas citing her “violent nature, coldness and contempt for human life”.
The teen has been charged with murder, illegal possession of a firearm and concealment of a corpse, while Morais has been charged with concealment of a corpse and corruption of a minor.
It is not yet clear when the two will face trial.
