The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro reported, this Wednesday morning (17), that tests carried out on the body of the elderly Paulo Roberto Braga, aged 68, indicate that the man had already been dead for at least two hours after the arrival of the Mobile Customer Service (SAMU) at the bank branch where he was taken to withdraw a loan of R$17,000.
Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, 42, who would be the man's cousin and caregiver, was arrested for attempted theft by fraud and vilifying a corpse this Tuesday (16). A video showing the moment in which the woman tries to get the elderly man to sign the loan went viral on social media.
The suspect's defense stated that Paulo had become ill and died after entering the bank. However, for delegate Fábio Luiz Souza, head of the 34th DP (Bangu), this version is not valid.
“Corpse books were found on his body. You can only find cadaveric books after a few hours of death, so this indicates that death did not occur at that moment. To form a cadaveric book, it is necessary at least two hours after death,” he explained.
According to the delegate, the woman would have gone with the elderly man to the bank using an app car, and the Civil Police are trying to identify the driver so he can give a statement.
In her statement, Érika claimed that the loan was made on March 25, which was confirmed by investigators, and that she had gone to the location with her cousin to withdraw the money at his request. “But the bank employees initially thought he was sick, because he didn't react, and then they called SAMU, when they found out that he was actually already dead”, reports the delegate.
Agents are still awaiting the results of the examination from the Legal Medical Institute (IML) to confirm the cause of Paulo's death. The police are also expected to hear witnesses and the man's family members in the coming days. According to the delegate, no other close relatives of Paulo were located in the state of Rio.
Initially, Erika must answer for attempted theft through fraud and vilification of a corpse. “If it is determined that the cause of death was not natural, a homicide investigation will be opened.”
The suspect spent the night detained at the 34th DP (Bangu) and underwent a criminal examination at the Duque de Caixas IML. Erika must be sent to a custody hearing, between today (17) and tomorrow (18), at the Benfica Prison.
Source: CNN Brasil
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