Lawyer is preventively arrested on suspicion of document suppression and embezzlement of resources from deceased elderly woman

Jéssica was charged with document suppression after police officers found, in her apartment, in Cacuia, on Ilha do Governador, the original documents of a 90-year-old woman who died in 2019. According to the investigation, the lawyer had been the woman's curator and the elderly woman's son had been demanding the return of the documents for around seven years.

When ordering preventive detention, the judge pointed out the risk of repeating the crime, the need to preserve the investigations and the danger of intimidation of the victim. The decision also considered the history related to the investigation of coercion during the process and the proximity of the investigated woman to the elderly woman's family.

The judge recognized the legality of the act, rejected the release requests presented by the defense and considered other precautionary measures insufficient. The decision also ruled out the allegation that the arrest was related to the practice of law.

During the execution of the search and seizure warrant, the police found the original identity card and death certificate of the elderly woman, who died in July 2019.

According to the Civil Police, the woman's son had asked for the documents several times, but had not received them. The investigation shows that the lawyer said that the papers were stored in boxes.

Retaining the documents would have made it difficult to open the inventory and regularize the succession. The son needed to obtain a duplicate of the death certificate to activate his mother's life insurance, a document that, according to the report presented to the police, was only obtained in 2023.

Police also seized electronic equipment, jewelry, a watch and gold-plated cutlery. The elderly woman's son recognized the watch and cutlery as belonging to his mother. The objects will be subjected to expertise and evaluation.

During the searches, the police also looked for the lawyer's cell phone. According to the investigation, the device had been authorized by the Court for seizure and subsequent data extraction.

The phone was not initially located. After more than an hour of searching, agents found the device hidden inside the bathroom drain.

According to the Civil Police, the suspect had placed her cell phone at the location to prevent seizure. The device and other electronic equipment will be subjected to data extraction.

According to the investigation, Jéssica was a neighbor of the elderly woman, who lived alone in Cocotá, also on Ilha do Governador. The woman received a military pension and benefits from the National Social Security Institute (INSS).

In 2014, Jéssica was appointed curator of the elderly woman by the courts and began to manage her interests and assets.

According to the Civil Police, the resources should be used for the benefit of the pensioner. The investigation identified, however, money transfers from the elderly woman's account to the lawyer's personal account.

Investigators also found financial transactions that would have occurred after the woman's death. According to the corporation, six days after the death there was a transfer of the elderly woman's account to the lawyer, followed by a withdrawal. The investigation also identified purchases made with the victim's card in the year following the death.

The existence of these records was considered in the context of the investigation, which also investigates the retention of documents and possible diversion of resources and assets from the former guardianship.