A married couple have been arrested on suspicion of killing a pregnant teenager and cutting her belly open to steal her baby.
The body of Emilly Azevedo Sena was found in a shallow grave in the suspects’ back garden.
The police believe Emily, who was 16-years-old and nine months pregnant, was strangled to death with cables.
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There were cuts to her abdomen and signs that she had tried to defend herself on Wednesday (12 Mar) in Cuiabá, west of Brasilia, Brazil
Detective Caio Alexandre told local media that the couple had “used a bladed weapon to remove the baby”.
The police believe Nataly Helen Martins Pereira and Christian Albino Cebalho de Arruda wanted to pass the baby off as their own.
One of them posted a photo of the infant on social media shortly after Sena’s murder and captioned it: “Welcome, my daughter.”
They were arrested yesterday (13 Mar) at a hospital in Cuiabá after attempting to register the newborn.
Medics had alerted the police after finding Pereira’s behaviour suspicious and noticing inconsistencies in her account.
Pereira, 25, had allegedly been chatting to Sena on social media and had claimed to her that she had two kids and a third on the way.
She had told the pregnant teen that she had baby clothes and a crib liner to give to her for free, its said.
Sena’s devastated mother, Ana Paula Meridiane, claimed: “She said she had received a lot of baby clothes and wanted to donate some to Emilly.
“She sent her the location and even transferred money via Pix so my daughter could go there to pick them up.
“But she went and never came back.”
Pereira and 28-year-old Arruda – a chef – are now in custody.
They face charges of murder with aggravating circumstances, concealing a body, and perverting the course of justice.
Sena’s newborn is still receiving care and has been visited by Meridiane in hospital.
The teenager leaves behind a husband, as reported by Need To Know.
Pereira had convinced her not to bring him along when she visited the couple’s house.
Det Alexandre said: “She arrived and was immediately subjected to this act of cruelty.
“Forensic investigators are still at the scene, working to piece together exactly what happened.”
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