The woman accused of driving a dead man into a Brazilian bank has been spotted in handcuffs as police hunt for the driver who took them to the mall.
New details have been released about the bizarre incident that took place on Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro’s Bangu neighborhood, when Erika de Souza, 42, pushed the corpse of Roberto Braga, 68, to the counter of a counter and tried to withdraw 17,000 reais . about $3,200).
Employees at the bank branch became concerned about De Souza’s actions as she attempted to get a lifeless Braga to sign a document and called the police, who arrested her on the spot.
The head of Rio de Janeiro’s civil police, Fábio Souza, told Brazilian news channel G1 on Wednesday that while he could not pinpoint the exact moment Braga died, cadaver marks visible on the back of his head indicate he died about two would have been dead for an hour. .
That’s because new footage has been unearthed showing Erika pushing the body around the mall before driving to the bank.
Érika de Souza (pictured) was arrested by authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday after trying to get her late uncle, Paulo Braga, to sign a loan document at a bank while he was in a wheelchair
Érika de Souza was seen on surveillance video pushing a wheelchair carrying the lifeless body of her uncle, Paulo Braga, before attempting to withdraw $3,200 from his bank account
Footage showed Érika de Souza telling a dead Paulo Braga to grip his pen tightly as she placed it between his fingers and encouraged him to sign a piece of paper at the bank branch in Bangu, a western neighborhood from Rio de Janeiro. Janeiro
If Roberto had died while in the wheelchair, the cadaver patches would have been on his legs, authorities said.
“It is not possible to say the exact moment of death,” Souza said. ‘It has been determined by Samu (Mobile Emergency Service) that there is (livor mortis). This only happens from the moment of death, but is only noticeable about two hours after death.’
Souza said officers were deployed to search for the rideshare app driver who dropped off Souza at the bank with her late uncle.
De Souza, who is facing charges of attempted theft by fraud and defamation of a corpse, was interviewed by authorities on Wednesday morning.
She told police that Braga had died while sitting in the wheelchair near the couch, a claim police dispute.
“In my 22-year career, I have never seen a story like this,” Souza said.
Customers and employees of the bank initially thought Braga was ill, the police chief indicated, before calling the ambulance. A viral video recorded by a bank employee showed De Souza holding Braga’s head up and telling him, “Uncle, are you listening?” You have to sign it. I can’t sign for you.’
Bank employees began filming the couple and eventually called an ambulance and the police, while Érika de Souza used her hand to hold Paulo Braga’s head up and said to him, “Uncle, are you listening?” You have to sign it. I can’t draw for you
Érika de Souza drove her late uncle Paulo Braga through a shopping center in Rio de Janeiro before visiting a bank, where she tried to get him to sign a loan document
Authorities in Rio de Janeiro are investigating whether Érika de Souza is really related to Paulo Braga, the 68-year-old man whose lifeless body was placed in a wheelchair and taken to a bank in her attempt to take out a loan
One of the bank employees then told de Souza, “I don’t think this is legal.” He doesn’t look well. He’s very pale.’
“That’s the way he is,” she replied, telling her late uncle, “If you’re not well, I can take you to the hospital. Do you want to go back to the hospital?’
De Souza then told Braga: “Sign so you don’t give me any more headaches, I can’t take it anymore.”
Souza also investigates whether Souza is related to Braga.
‘She calls herself his niece. In fact, according to our research, she has some relationship,” he said. “And she calls herself his caregiver. We want to identify other family members.”