Investigators search for new evidence in flat where cleaner killed elderly couple in Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais police will conduct second inspection of luxury property of murdered couple to attempt to locate additional weapons beyond the knife.
Investigators search for new evidence in flat where cleaner killed elderly couple in Belo Horizonte
The authorities of Minas Gerais will return to the residence where a 75-year-old lawyer and his wife, a 76-year-old businesswoman, lost their lives at the end of June. The objective is to track down possible instruments that the domestic employee accused in the crime may have used, beyond the blade already seized.
According to O Globo, the new search will take place in the flat located in the São Pedro neighbourhood in Belo Horizonte. Cláudio Atala Inácio and Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel Atala Inácio were found dead after being sedated and stabbed on the 29th.
The 30-year-old woman identified as the perpetrator of the double robbery-homicide, Paola Stefany Neto Cirino, has been held in preventive custody since the beginning of July. Her arrest in flagrante delicto, which occurred in the early hours of the 2nd, was converted following a custody hearing.
The prosecution's theory is that the employee intended to incapacitate the couple with medication in order to steal goods from the flat. Laboratory tests revealed the presence of clonazepam in the victims' bloodstream, but no trace of the substance was identified in the body of the detainee. This contradicts the suspect's claim that she would have consumed the medication during an episode of mental breakdown, as explained by the inquiry officer, Gustavo Barletta.
Following the homicide, the accused woman obtained jewellery, a sum of money and various objects. Among the items taken were two high-value watches, later recovered when the buyer voluntarily returned them. The estimated total value of the watches was R$ 108,000. Investigators found no criminal intent on the part of the person who purchased them.
The number of wounds suffered by the man initially exceeded expectations. Whilst the initial assessment indicated seventeen stab wounds to the chest, more detailed examinations discovered injuries to the skull, cervical region, back and occipital area, bringing the total to more than forty blows. The woman was also struck by several stab wounds, although the exact number awaits completion of the technical reports.
The police force emphasised, by means of a statement, that the work aims to "fully clarify the motivation, the dynamics and all circumstances" of the case. Information about weapons and evidentiary items will only be made public upon completion of the investigation, conducted by the specialised unit dealing with crimes against property.
The defendant's lawyers stated that the grounds of the defence will be presented in the proper procedural phase, based on the case files and the evidence collected, always with respect to the institutions.
Source: Google News BR — Crime