Pernambuco Court Orders Preventive Detention in Caruaru Killing of 24-Year-Old

Overview

• The Tribunal de Justiça de Pernambuco decreed preventive detention on November 19 following a custody hearing.
• Josemi José de Santana Filho was sent to the Penitenciária Juiz Plácido de Souza in Caruaru, and Andrea Maria dos Santos da Silva was taken to the Colônia Penal Feminina Bom Pastor in Recife.
• Police say Josemi confessed to the homicide and alleged that Andrea ordered the crime, and both were indicted for latrocínio.
• Investigators cite a financial motive tied to property the victim inherited from her grandfather that would likely pass to her mother in the absence of heirs.
• The suspect described visiting under a religious pretext to demand transfers, killing the victim when payment failed, then leading police to a bag with a knife, a gardening hoe, and a blood-stained sheet now under forensic analysis.