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Brazilian Influencer’s Death Probed as Femicide After 10th-Floor Fall, Husband Detained

Investigators shifted course after security video reviewed by police appeared to contradict his suicide claim.

Overview

  • Maria Katiane Gomes da Silva, 25, died on Nov. 29 after falling from the 10th floor of her São Paulo building.
  • Neighbors reported screams and a loud noise, and officers found her husband holding her body as he told police she had taken her own life after an argument.
  • Security footage reported by g1 and O Globo appears to show Alex Leandro Bispo dos Santos assaulting her in the parking garage and reaching toward her neck during an elevator dispute before returning alone.
  • Santos was arrested on Dec. 9 under a temporary detention order as police pursue a femicide investigation led by the 89th Police District, which has ordered forensic exams and is collecting witness statements.
  • Before his arrest, he attended her Dec. 1 funeral in Ceará; Gomes da Silva had a modest social media following and was the mother of a young daughter.