Man Arrested in Paraíba While Disguised Faces Probe Over 16 Killings

Overview

• Police located and arrested the 33-year-old suspect after roughly 48 hours of searches in mid-September when he was found disguised in women's clothing and carrying a two-year-old child.
• Investigators say 16 recent homicides in the Vale do Mamanguape region have strong linking elements, including technical evidence and confessions tying them to the suspect.
• During interrogation the man told officers he had killed about 80 people, a claim that prompted the civil police to systematically recheck unsolved inquests across the state.
• Authorities say the suspect used dense vegetation hideouts and sheltered in communities tied to a criminal faction from Rio de Janeiro, and intelligence with federal road police helped track his movements before his transfer to Presídio Sílvio Porto.
• The child found with the suspect was not a relative, received medical care, and police continue forensic work, site corroboration and inquiries into the child's origin and the wider human impact of the case.