New confession and another detainee: the crime of Marielle Franco advances towards its resolution in Brazil

The Minister of Justice, Flavio Dino, assured that they are getting closer to identifying the masterminds of the murder perpetrated five years ago.

The murder of councilor Marielle Franco in 2018, which continues to cause so much indignation in Brazil, moved towards its resolution this Monday, with the confession of a detainee and the capture of a new suspect.

“We are close to clarifying all aspects related to this barbaric crime,” said Justice Minister Flavio Dino.

What made this jump in the investigations possible was the confession of one of the detainees, the former sergeant of the Military Police Elcio de Queiroz, who was driving the vehicle from which the councilwoman and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were shot to death on March 14, 2018 in Rio de Janeiro.

shots from the car

Queiroz testified under the award-winning denunciation modality, widely used and questioned in Brazil, since it grants benefits, including sentence reductions, to informers in exchange for their accusations.

And he did it to confirm that he participated and that Ronnie Lessathe former military police officer detained since 2019, was the author of the shots that ended the lives of both.

In his statement, seen by the G1 news site, Queiroz gave many details about Franco’s crimewho was a symbol of the fight against racism and gender discrimination.

Among other things, he revealed that Lessa told him in 2017 that he was planning a crime, without saying who, and confessed that he had even tried to kill her that year. She also said that that night they followed her when she and her driver were on their way to a bar and that Lessa fired at them with a submachine gun from the vehicle, with the window down.

“Identify the masterminds”

“Today we are witnessing a change in the level of the investigation. The investigation concludes at the execution level and now there are elements to go to a new level, which is to identify the masterminds,” Dino explained.

Queiroz also said that the former firefighter Maxwell Simoes Corraa, known as “Suel”, was following the councilor several times to be clear about her routine and that he had to participate in the crime, but that he ended up being replaced by himself.

That allowed him to be detained this Monday at his home. ‘Suel’ was already sentenced for obstruction of justice in 2021 for this case, but he was serving his sentence in an open regime.

In the operation this Monday, the Federal Police (PF) also searched several homes in Rio de Janeiro in search of new evidence.

“And in the coming weeks there will be new operations derived from the set of tests obtained today,” the minister reported.

inquiries

The slow progress of the investigations into the murder of the activist and the driver is a frequent source of criticism inside and outside Brazil. Some authorities and organizations have linked this crime to the militias, as the mafias made up of active and retired police officers who control dozens of favelas are known.

Upon coming to power, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of have relations with the militias who carried out the crime, he reiterated his commitment to find out who ordered to kill them. And he appointed the sister of the murdered councilwoman, Anielle Franco, to head the newly created Ministry of Racial Equality.