This is the moment a man was arrested after his brother paid him to murder his ex-wife in Brazil.
Rodrigo Xavier was arrested at his home in Nova Mutum on Wednesday, almost a week after receiving $708 to kill Raquel Cattani, daughter of Mato Grosso congressman Gilberto Cattani, police said.
Rodrigo’s brother, Romero Xavier, allegedly planned the murder and was arrested at Raquel Cattani’s family home during an operation on Wednesday.
The brothers face charges of aggravated homicide.
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 on the car.
Raquel Cattani, daughter of Brazilian lawmaker Gilberto Cattani, was murdered in her home on July 18. Police have arrested her ex-husband and his brother.
Authorities alleged that Romero Xavier planned the murder of Raquel Cattani, the mother of the couple’s six-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
Police take Rodrigo Xavier from his home on Wednesday. He told investigators that his brother paid him 4,000 Brazilian reals, or about $708, to kill his sister-in-law.
Rodrigo Xavier broke into the property on the night of July 18 and hid in one of the rooms before attacking his sister-in-law and stabbing her 34 times.
“The dynamic identified, precisely through Rodrigo’s interrogation, is that he remained in the place during the day and remained there until nightfall,” Nova Mutum police officer Edmund Barros Jr. said during the press conference.
“He broke the window of the children’s room, entered and stayed there waiting for the victim to arrive. When the victim arrived, he surprised her and began hitting her in several areas.”
The Mato Grosso Civil Police reported that Romero Xavier and Raquel Cattani were in the process of divorce and had been separated for 30 days.
Romero Xavier approached his brother, with whom he did not have a close relationship, and orchestrated the murder because he was upset 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 had told a friend on July 15 that Romero Xavier had threatened to kill her unless they got back together.
On July 15, Raquel Cattani had told a friend that her ex-husband had threatened to kill her. The 26-year-old mother of two was killed on July 18 by her brother-in-law, who confessed to the murder to the police.
Raquel Cattani with her father, Brazilian deputy Gilberto Cattani
Rodrigo Xavier became nervous when police officers questioned him about the murder of his sister-in-law before confessing to killing her.
Police said the man threw his cell phone, his sister-in-law’s motorcycle and the knife used to commit the crime into a river in the town of Lucas do Rio Verde.
Rodrigo Xavier broke the window of his nephews’ room in the farmhouse and left a television on, which led police to believe was a planned break-in.
Upon searching her home, police found a bottle of perfume 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 the plan to divert the investigation.
A footprint found on the television appeared to match the print on the boots he was wearing at the time of his arrest.
Romero Xavier, police said, drove his brother to the house and dropped him off nearby on July 18. He took his children to lunch with Rep. Cattani to provide an alibi.
He organised a barbecue with a few people, including some he had not been in contact with, and later that night went to three nightclubs in the Tapurah township.
Raquel Cattani was murdered by Rodrigo Xavier, her brother-in-law, who received around $708 from her ex-husband, Romero Xavier, to carry out the crime.
Romero Xavier went to the house on the morning of July 19, when Congressman Cattani discovered his daughter’s body in the house.
He was arrested and released after questioning.
As rumors swirled that Romero Xavier was considered a suspect, Congressman Cattani posted on social media.
“With a broken heart, I have to say a few things. Raquel’s husband was not arrested nor did he confess to any crime and I did not kill my daughter as has been reported. At least have some respect for the pain of others,” she wrote.
Romero Xavier attended Raquel Cattani’s funeral and burial last Saturday and burst into tears.