A man snapped bawling his eyes out at his ex-wife’s funeral was arrested days later on suspicion of ordering her murder.
Mum-of-two Raquel Cattani, whose dad is a serving politician, was brutally killed in her home on the night of 18 July.
The 26-year-old’s body was found in a room the next day (19 Jul) with at least 30 stab wounds.
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Her ex-husband Romero Xavier sobbed uncontrollably at her funeral on Saturday (20 Jul).
The case took a darker turn when he was arrested last (24 Jul) night night on suspicion of ordering her murder.
His brother Rodrigo Xavier was also arrested that day on suspicion of carrying out the killing, as reported on Need To Know.
The police say the perpetrator broke into Raquel’s home in rural Nova Mutum, north west of Brasilia, Brazil, through a window.
Her television was found outside and some other items were missing from the country house.
The police believe the suspects had tried to make the crime look like a burglary turned deadly.
They came to this conclusion after finding Rodrigo’s motorbike in a nearby river.
Detective Edmundo Félix said: “We questioned why someone would try to transport a television on a motorcycle.
“This evidence suggested that the TV was deliberately left outside the house to complicate the investigation.”
The police started investigating Romero after learning that he was possessive and hadn’t come to terms with the end of his marriage.
Raquel was an artisanal cheese producer who leaves behind a six-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.
Her dad is state deputy Gilberto Cattani of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.
Romero had stood next to him at Raquel’s funeral days before his arrest and had had lunch with him just hours before her murder.
After lunch, he had picked his kids up and taken them elsewhere.
At the time of the killing, he was having a barbecue with his pals and they went clubbing that night.
The police say his brother Rodrigo has several entries, including multiple counts of theft, on his criminal record.
The investigation continues.
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