Brazil arrests ex-fireman in Marielle Franco murder case
July 24, 2023
Brazilian police have arrested another subject in connection with the death of Rio de Janeiro councilor Marielle Franco.
Franco was killed in 2018 alongside her driver, Anderson Gomes.
The latest arrest was carried out after a former police officer confessed to involvement in the murder, Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino said.
What is the state of investigations into Marielle Franco's death?
The man arrested is a former firefighter, identified by the minister as Maxwell Simoes Correia.
Dino said that Correia is suspected of hiding the weapons used by two suspects, former police officers Ronnie Lessa and Elcio de Queiroz, who are on trial over the shooting.
Simoes had already been convicted of obstruction of justice in relation to the case in 2021 and sentenced to four years of probation.
Brazil's justice minister said that Queiroz, who is accused of driving the car used in the crime, confessed to being an accessory to the murder as part of a plea bargain.
"We are close to solving this horrendous crime," the minister said.
Dino said that other individuals were involved in the killing and that the results of investigations indicate the participation of militias and organized crime groups.
Who was Marielle Franco?
Franco was a Black and openly gay councilwoman who was born in Mare, a poor neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro.
The councilwoman belonged to the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) and was known for her women's and human rights activism, including concerns over police brutality.
She was 38 at the time of her death.
Investigators believe that the killing was a paid assassination carried out by hit men.
sdi/nm (Reuters, Lusa, EFE)