A woman who took her dead “uncle” to a bank in Brazil for a “loan scam” was seen transporting the body in a taxi and even asking the taxi driver to help her put him in a wheelchair, which could reveal a crucial detail that could see her imprisoned.
Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes, 42, was seen on CCTV footage traveling in a carpool with Paulo Roberto Braga to a bank in Bangu, Rio de Janeiro, before attempting to withdraw 17,000 reais (around £2,600) on 16 April.
Nunes insists she did not know her elderly relative was dead when she took him to the bank, while newly emerged footage shows her struggling to get Braga out of the car and into a wheelchair with the help of the taxi driver.
The images were taken in a parking lot near the bank shortly after 1:00 pm on Tuesday, and an autopsy revealed that he probably died between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm that day.
But amid an exhaustive police investigation, a key detail provides new insight into how and when Braga may have died on Tuesday, calling into question claims that he died at the bank.
New CCTV footage shows the woman with her ‘uncle’ in a wheelchair on April 16
The woman prepared the wheelchair while the taxi driver went to help the man out of the seat.
The taxi driver, who has since been questioned, helped Souza transfer the man to the chair.
A passerby turned to watch as she approached the taxi, her ‘uncle’ still in the seat.
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’
Shocking video shared this week showed Souza pushing Roberto Braga, 68, onto a bank teller’s desk and attempting to withdraw money on Tuesday, April 16.
Employees at the bank branch became concerned about De Souza’s actions as she tried to get Braga to sign a document and called the police, who arrested her at the scene.
Customers and bank workers initially thought Braga was sick, the police chief said, before calling an ambulance.
A viral video recorded by a bank employee showed De Souza holding Braga’s head and telling him: ‘Dude, are you listening? You have to sign it. I can’t sign for you.
The footage showed the woman telling the dead man to hold onto her pen tightly as she placed it between his fingers and encouraged him to sign a piece of paper.
Souza told police that Braga had died while sitting in a wheelchair on the bench, a claim police are disputing.
But police chief Fábio Luiz Souza says the way the blood pooled in his vessels suggests Braga died not sitting on the bench but lying down.
The police chief previously told Brazilian news outlet G1 that while he could not provide the exact moment Braga died, corpse spots that were visible on the back of his head indicate he would have been dead for approximately two hours.
If Roberto had died while sitting in the wheelchair, the body patches would have been located on his legs, authorities said.
A post-mortem examination has since revealed that Braga likely died between 11:30am and 2:30pm that day.
But the forensic pathologist who performed the examination cannot say with certainty whether he died on the way to the bank in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Braga’s cause of death was respiratory aspiration of stomach contents and heart failure.
The results of toxicity tests are still pending to determine if he was drugged.
Souza was arrested by authorities in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday after trying to get her dead uncle, Paulo Braga, to sign a loan document at a bank while he was sitting in a wheelchair.
CCTV footage allegedly captured in Rio de Janeiro on April 15 outside an Emergency Care Unit in Bangu showed Braga, 68, alive as Souza carried him in a wheelchair.
Another newly emerged CCTV clip shows how he took his uncle to an emergency care unit on Monday night. Braga was clearly alive at the time.
The rideshare driver has been questioned by police.
Souza’s lawyer claims she has mental health issues and may have been having a nervous breakdown.
Ana Carla de Souza Correa said: ‘Érika is undergoing psychological treatment and taking prescribed medication.
‘I think she was having a nervous breakdown at the time because of the medication.
“She seemed visibly disturbed.”