“I’m a monster”, says mother accused of killing boy Miguel in RS

The interrogation of defendants Yasmin Vaz dos Santos Rodrigues and Bruna Nathiele Porto da Rosa, accused of the death of Miguel dos Santos Rodrigues, their son and stepson, respectively, ended the first day of the case trial this Thursday (4). A new session takes place today (5).

In her testimony, Yasmin, now 28 years old, only responded to her defense lawyer's questions. In her speech, she admitted that she hit the boy hard and that, the next day, she administered an excessive dosage of medicine when he woke up, which would have been the cause of death.

Yasmin also accused Bruna of attacking her son and said that she considers herself “a monster” for not taking any action. “I'm a monster. In fact, I'm quite a monster. Because, if I'm here today, it's because I made a hell of a mistake. If I'm here, everyone is here, it's because I was terrible as a mother, as a human being. But I never imagined she could do this,” she said.

The two, who are already in prison, are responsible for the crimes of torture, triple homicide — for a base motive, a cruel motive and a resource that made the victim's defense difficult — and concealment of a corpse. This Friday morning (5), the trial resumed at the Tramandaí District Court, on the north coast of Rio Grande do Sul.

The mother also said that she left the house for an hour, and when she returned, Bruna was under the table lying in the fetal position. When she arrived in the room, she noticed that Miguel was “purple and hard.” When they realized that he was dead, the two decided to dispose of the body because they thought they would not believe in accidental death.

The stepmother took the suitcase and Yasmin dressed the victim and placed the body inside. The suitcase was thrown into the Tramandaí River. To this day, Miguel's body has not been found.

Bruna, Miguel's stepmother, currently 26 years old, denied having participated in the murder. In her statement, she admitted that she committed psychological violence against the child and that she helped hide the corpse.

Bruna responded to questions from her defense lawyers and the Public Prosecutor's Office, without responding to Yasmin's law firm. The defendant stated that Miguel's mother was manipulative and aggressive, both towards her son and towards her. “She said if he screamed, she would hit him harder,” she said.

The stepmother described that the boy did not have adequate food and that he lived locked in a wardrobe, even having to do his physiological needs inside. Regarding the boy's death, Bruna said that the victim was not breathing in bed and that Yasmin put her son's body in the suitcase on her own idea.

Remember the case

According to the complaint from the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul, Miguel was killed by the then couple between the 26th and 29th of July 2021. The death would have been the result of physical aggression, insufficient nutrition, use of inappropriate medication and omission victim's health care.

Afterwards, his body would have been placed inside a suitcase and thrown into the Tramandaí River. Miguel's body was not found.

According to the prosecutor's office, the reason for the murder was that the boy was disrupting his mother and stepmother's relationship.

In the complaint, the prosecutor says that in the days leading up to the crime, the two women would have subjected the child to intense physical and mental suffering, as punishment for seeking affection, care and attention.

Still according to the Public Ministry, Miguel was locked with his hands tied and immobilized with chains and padlocks inside a small wardrobe for long periods. When he managed to free himself, they tied him up again.

In the complaint, the Public Ministry argues that the women allowed Miguel to eat only when they wanted. He was also forced to relieve himself inside the wardrobe, including being compelled to clean it as punishment.

The prosecution reports that the boy was forced to repeatedly write derogatory phrases against himself, such as “I'm an idiot”, “I'm a thief”, “I'm bad”, “I'm cruel”, “I'm evil”, “I’m no good”, among others.