A 56-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of shooting his 15-year-old girlfriend dead.
Fugitive, Gilson Cruz de Oliveira was caught after a road camera filmed his car’s number plate.
He was arrested on Monday (15 Jul) and was remanded into custody the next day.
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He exercised his right to remain silent during questioning.
According to witnesses, Gilson and his girlfriend were drinking at his home when a row erupted on Sunday (14 Jul).
It ended in horror when he allegedly shot Maria Vitória dos Santos multiple times with his revolver.
It’s not clear if the witnesses were in the same room as the couple at the time.
Maria Vitória met Gilson when she started working at his bakery about two years ago.
She was just 13 at the time, as reported on Need To Know.
She moved into his home in Monteiro, northeast of Brasilia, Brazil, about a year ago.
At first, her family didn’t object to the relationship, despite the 41-year age gap.
However, they later discovered that the two had started having sex when Maria Vitória was still under the age of consent.
More recently, the teenager had begun telling her mum that Gilson was allegedly violent.
She once claimed to her in an audio message: “He pointed the gun at my face.”
Maria Lúcia dos Santos Farias says her daughter had been trying to end the relationship because she was afraid of Gilson.
She was planning to travel to Monteiro to collect Maria Vitória and take her back with her to São Paulo.
But the crime happened before she could do so.
Gilson was caught in Brejo da Madre de Deus, about a two-hour drive from the crime scene.
He’s charged with femicide and may also face statutory rape charges.
Under Brazilian law, it is considered statutory rape if an over-18 has sex with an under-14.
Police chief Sávio Siqueira said: “He fired more than once, making sure to hit her in a way that ensured she couldn’t survive.”
Gilson has a prior conviction for intentional bodily harm against his own daughter.
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