Man paid brother $708 in plot to kill estranged wife and daughter of Brazilian congressman

This is the moment a man was arrested after his brother bribed him to kill his estranged wife in Brazil.

Rodrigo Xavier was arrested Wednesday at his home in Nova Mutum, nearly a week after he received $708 to kill Raquel Cattani, the daughter of Mato Grosso congressman Gilberto Cattani, police said.

Rodrigo’s brother Romero Xavier is said to have planned the murder and was arrested on Wednesday during an operation at the home of Raquel Cattani’s family.

The siblings are charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Guilherme Pompeo, who is leading the civil police investigation, told reporters Thursday that Rodrigo Xavier used $265 of the blood money to cover the down payment for the car.

Authorities alleged that Romero Xavier plotted the murder of Raquel Cattani, the mother of the couple’s 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter

Rodrigo Xavier is led out of his home by police on Wednesday. He told investigators that his brother paid him 4,000 Brazilian reals, about $708, to kill his sister-in-law

Rodrigo Xavier broke into the farmhouse on the evening of July 18 and hid in one of the rooms before attacking his sister-in-law, stabbing her 34 times.

“The dynamic that we identified precisely through Rodrigo’s interrogation is that he stayed at the location all day and remained there until sunset,” Nova Mutum Police Officer Edmund Barros Jr. said during the news conference.

‘He broke the window of the child’s room, went inside and waited there until the victim arrived. After the victim arrived, he surprised her and started hitting her in several places.’

According to Mato Grosso police, Romero Xavier and Raquel Cattani were in the middle of divorce proceedings and had been living apart for 30 days.

Romero Xavier approached his brother, with whom he had no close relationship, and organized the murder because he was angry that his wife and mother of his six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter no longer wanted to be with him.

Raquel Cattani told a friend on July 15 that Romero Xavier had threatened to kill her if they didn’t get back together.

On July 15, Raquel Cattani told a friend that her estranged husband had threatened to kill her. The 26-year-old mother of two was murdered on July 18 by her brother-in-law, who confessed to police

Raquel Cattani with her father, Brazilian Congressman Gilberto Cattani

Rodrigo Xavier became nervous when officers questioned him about the murder of his sister-in-law, before he confessed to killing her.

According to police, he dumped his mobile phone, his sister-in-law’s motorcycle and the knife he used to commit the crime in a river in the town of Lucas do Rio Verde.

Rodrigo Xavier smashed the window of his niece and nephew’s room in the farmhouse and left a television on. According to the police, these were indications that it was a staged home invasion.

While searching his home, police found a perfume bottle belonging to Raquel Cattani, along with a radio, a cell phone case, a knife and a belt.

Rodrigo Xavier told investigators that his brother had ordered him to take the items as part of a plan to disrupt the investigation.

A footprint found on television matched the print on the boots he was wearing when he was arrested.

According to police, Romero Xavier drove his brother to the house on July 18 and left him nearby. He took his children to lunch with Congressman Cattani to have an alibi.

He organised a barbecue with a few people, including people he had not had contact with, and later in the evening visited three nightclubs in Tapurah township.

Raquel Cattani was murdered by Rodrigo Xavier, her brother-in-law, who received approximately $708 from her estranged husband, Romero Xavier, to commit the crime

Romero Xavier went to the house on the morning of July 19, when Congressman Cattani found his daughter’s body in the house.

He was arrested and released after questioning.

When rumors started circulating that Romero Xavier was being considered a suspect, Congressman Cattani posted a message on social media.

“With a broken heart I have to say a few things here. Raquel’s husband has not been arrested nor has he confessed to a crime and I did not kill my daughter as has been reported. At least have some respect for the pain of others,” he wrote.

Romero Xavier attended Raquel Cattani’s funeral service and burial last Saturday and burst into tears.