Juiz de Fora Man Confesses to Killing Five Family Members

Overview

• The victims were identified as father João Batista Fernandes Souza, 74; stepmother Neide Fernandes de Faria Souza, 63; sisters Mônica dos Santos Souza, 47, and Rachel dos Santos Souza, 44; and 5-year-old nephew Gabriel Souza Costa.
• Police report the stabbings happened early Wednesday across a cluster of houses the family shared on Rua Rita Monteiro in the Santa Cecília neighborhood.
• According to investigators, the suspect maintained his confession, stated he “did what he had to do,” and offered an incoherent account of motive after alleging grievances against his father.
• He was arrested without resistance hours later at his apartment, where officers recovered two tactical knives and found clothing wet in the bathroom and washing machine.
• He remains held at Ceresp in Linhares pending Friday’s videoconference hearing, and the family held joint funerals Thursday with burials at Parque da Saudade and the municipal cemetery.