- Mother of alleged bathtub murder victim speaks out
- Says her daughter locked herself in the bathroom
- Teacher, 43, left Brazil with alleged killer to travel
- READ MORE: Catiuscia Machado’s final moments
The mother of a special education teacher who was allegedly murdered and found dead in her bathtub in Sydney has broken her silence as details emerge about how her body was allegedly found by detectives surrounded by frozen food bags.
Catiuscia Machada, known as Cati, was found dead in her apartment in Chiswick, in the west of the city, at 9.50pm on Saturday evening.
NSW Police allege her boyfriend, Diogo De Oliveira, fatally struck Ms Machada during an argument, causing her to fall into the bathtub and hit her head.
De Oliveira has been charged with domestic violence murder and is facing trial.
Ms Machada’s mother, Eliaide, from Canos, southern Brazil, told Portuguese-language media last night that her daughter had left Brazil with her boyfriend to travel abroad in March last year.
Cati Machado with her mother (above) who said the family was told that the teacher’s new boyfriend had allegedly been violent towards one of his ex-girlfriends in Brazil
Diogo De Oliveira has been taken into custody and charged with the murder of Cati Machado, whom he met in Brazil and traveled with him to Australia last year
The couple had flown to Australia where 43-year-old Catiuscia found work in her profession.
However, she had recently decided to travel to the Maldives on her own.
The grieving mother said police in Sydney told her there had been a fight between the couple and her daughter had allegedly fallen and fatally hit her head. terra.com.br reported.
Officers arrested De Oliveira at the unit block on Berchert Road, Chiswick, on Monday and he was taken to Burwood police station where he was charged.
He appeared at Burwood Local Court on Monday and did not apply for bail.
Ms. Machado was a specialist in psychopedagogy, a field that focuses on educating children with mental health problems.
“I work in cognitive development, with an emphasis on learning disabilities,” she described her work online.
Ms. Machado was a specialist in psychopedagogy and taught children with mental health problems
The 43-year-old special education teacher’s body was reportedly found floating in water in the bathtub, which was full of bags of frozen food.
In a recent Facebook post, she wrote about her hopes for the future and vowed to make changes in her life.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out this week to determine Ms Machado’s exact cause of death, whether it was the result of head injuries or whether she drowned.
The Machado family wants to bury Catiuscia in Canoas but is unsure how they will transport her remains back to Brazil once forensic authorities perform the autopsy and release Ms Machado’s body.