The woman who wheeled her ‘dead’ uncle into a bank is now being investigated for manslaughter.
In a shocking story last month, footage and snaps of a seemingly deceased man being taken into a Brazilian bank circulated the internet.
Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes was arrested at the scene after she reportedly tried to have her uncle, Paulo Braga, sign off on a loan for 17,000 reais (£2,600).
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Police claim he had been dead for 'at least two hours'.
Staff quickly became suspicious of the 42-year-old and began to film her as she placed a pen between the 68-year-old’s fingers. Bank clerks filmed Nunes as they said he ‘doesn’t look well’ and noted that he appeared to be ‘very pale’.
While the woman held up the back of his head to stop it from swaying, the staff told her they didn’t think it was legal and called the paramedics.
An autopsy later revealed Braga’s death was caused by ‘bronchosapiration and heart failure’ as Nunes insisted he was alive when they arrived at the bank.
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But the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police say otherwise in a report filed with the state Public Ministry yesterday (30 April).
“She knew this fact [he was dead], as he is [in the video] with his head down and without any movement, however, right before entering, she holds him by the neck so that he has his head up, simulating a person alive," Civil Police chief Fabio Souza said in his findings, obtained by TV Globo.
Mum-of-six Nunes is being held in pretrial detention and faces vilification of a corpse and attempted theft through fraud charges.
Souza insists there’s ‘no doubt’ the woman was aware of his death and the police are investigating her for manslaughter with the claim she ‘let the old man die’.
The police chief added: “Rather than returning to the hospital to save his life, she chose to go to the bank. The decision represents a clear failure to provide assistance.
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"Therefore, I order a new occurrence record to investigate the offence of manslaughter.”
Nunes’ lawyers have insisted the incident did not go down as described.
“The facts did not occur as has been narrated. Paulo was alive when he arrived at the bank,” Ana Carla de Souza Correa told reporters.
Her son, Lucas, also recently spoke out in her defence.
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“My mother raised six children, and she never needed to steal, she never needed to deceive anyone to raise her six children," he told Brazilian news outlet Fantastico.
"My mother guided her six children in this life, and she guided them very well, teaching us the path of study, the path of what is correct. Our life is very well underway and my mother has always been our biggest inspiration."
Featured Image Credit: X/@realengotvTopics: Crime, World News, Health