Jeff Machado used grandfather’s inheritance to give money to suspect of killing him, says investigation

Investigations show that actor Jeff Machado, murdered on January 23, had been giving money from the inheritance he received from his grandfather to pay TV producer Bruno Rodrigues, who promised him a role in the next 7 pm soap opera. Rodrigues is the main suspect in the crime and has been on the run since June 1st.

The producer even suggested that Jeff sell the house where he lived, in Guaratiba, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, to get more money to invest in his career.

“You need to sell the house”, wrote the producer in a message sent to Jeff. “You will earn good money with it. This will help you invest in your career. With the role in the soap opera, you will earn much more.”

Bruno Rodrigues even said, also through a message, that Jeff should lose a few pounds and let his hair grow to play the role of a lawyer in the soap opera – a job for which he would earn R$ 12,000 a month.

Jeff Machado’s mother said, however, that, a few days before the crime, the actor would have told her that he began to distrust the producer’s attitudes. According to Maria das Dores Machado, her son suspected he was the victim of a scam after making several transfers to Rodrigues and he stopped responding to her messages.

Actor was asphyxiated and buried in a trunk

Jeff Machado was asphyxiated with a telephone wire inside his own house. The body was placed inside a trunk and taken to a rented house in Campo Grande, also in the west zone.

The trunk was concreted on the floor of that house, where it ended up being found in May. According to the police, Bruno killed Jeff and had the help of the prostitute Jeander Vinícius to hide the body.

In a statement given to the police last week shortly after being arrested, Jeander said that he was with Bruno at Jeff’s house on the day of the crime, supposedly to record an erotic film.

When they arrived at Jeff’s house, Bruno would have offered to make some juice. Jeff complained that the juice would be bitter, indicating that the actor may have been drugged before the crime.