A woman is being investigated for manslaughter in the death of her uncle, whom she took to a Brazilian bank to obtain a loan.
Érika de Souza, 42, already knew that her Paulo Braga, 68, had died while trying to withdraw $3,250 from the bank on April 16, the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police reported in a report presented to the Ministry on Tuesday. State public.
‘She knew this fact (of death), because he is (in the video) with his head down and without any movement, however, just before entering, she holds him by the neck so that he has his head up, simulating a person. “alive,” said the head of the Civil Police, Fabio Souza, in his conclusions, obtained by TVGlobo.
De Souza, a mother of six, is in pretrial detention and faces charges of defamation of a corpse and attempted theft by fraud.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro announced Tuesday that they are investigating Erika de Souza (left) for homicide following the death of her uncle Paulo Braga (right), whom she took to a bank on April 16 to obtain a loan while he was He is already dead
The head of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, Fábio Souza, said in a report that Érika de Souza ‘knew’ that her uncle was already dead and held him ‘by the neck so that he had his head up, simulating a living person. ‘ moments before placing a pen. holding her hand to sign a document to obtain a loan of $3,250
Surveillance video cameras showed Braga being taken out of a car with a ride-sharing app in the mall parking lot and then De Souza carrying Braga through the mall while he sat motionless in the wheelchair.
Additional footage from a security camera captured De Souza standing next to Braga and then walking away toward the bathroom.
A bank employee was then seen leaving his seat and approaching Braga to hold his head after he leaned back, unaware that he was already dead. De Souza returned with a glass of water for his uncle and tried to give it to her.
The now viral video recorded with a cell phone by one of the bank workers showed how De Souza strangely said to Braga: ‘Dude, are you listening? You have to sign,” as he placed a pen near his right hand.
At one point, de Souza told the cashier, ‘He doesn’t say anything, that’s just the way it is,’ and turned to his uncle and mentioned that he would take him to the hospital if he didn’t feel well.
The bankers were concerned about De Souza’s behavior and called the police. Paramedics were sent to the bank and attempted to revive Braga.
Érika de Souza visited her uncle, Paulo Braga, just days before he was discharged from a medical center and later died on April 16.
Erika de Souza approaches the body of her uncle, Paulo Braga, at a bank branch in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 16, moments before attempting to withdraw $3,250 that had been previously approved.
Investigators discovered that Braga had already been dead for about two hours because there were corpse marks visible on her head.
‘There is no doubt that Érika knew about Paulo’s death, but, as it was her last opportunity to withdraw the loan money, she entered the bank with the body, pretending for several minutes that he was alive, even pretending to give him water. “She took the pen and brought her hand closer to the hand of Paulo’s corpse,” Souza said.
“However, since the bank employees did not distract him, he was unable to sign.”
Souza’s report also indicated that De Souza had opened her own bank account to obtain the money from Braga and that she also went to the bank alone to withdraw the loan money.
The loan had already been approved but the funds were not withdrawn because Braga was hospitalized for a week and was not discharged until April 15, the day before he died.
Souza’s statement highlighted that Braga was already dead when De Souza took him to the bank.
‘Inside the branch, she continues with this simulation while waiting for help, as she remains holding her neck and when she releases it, her head ‘falls’ back, which is impossible for a living person to happen,’ Souza said.
“Then, he holds it again and pretends to be talking, but he lets go of her neck once more and his head falls back down, holding her down.”
The bank employees began filming the couple and ended up calling an ambulance and the police, while Érika de Souza used her hand to hold Paulo Braga’s head up and said: ‘Man, are you listening? You have to sign it. I can’t sign for you’
Erika de Souza was captured on surveillance video pushing the lifeless body of her uncle, Paulo Braga, in a wheelchair before attempting to withdraw $3,250 from his bank account.
De Souza’s son, Lucas Nunes, revealed that she was under medication and had attempted suicide on several occasions.
In 2023, a psychiatrist requested his hospitalization because he had become too dependent on sedatives and hypnotics.
‘She has been going through difficult times. She has been experiencing disruption,” Nunes said. “She has psychological and psychiatric support.”
The family has claimed that Braga had applied for the loan on March 25.
He intended to use the money to repair the house where he lived with De Souza and three of their children.
‘My mother raised six children. And she never needed to steal or deceive anyone to do it,” Nunes added.
‘My mother guided her children towards life, and she guided them very well, teaching us the path of studies, the path of what is right.’
