Juliana Paulo Pinto was 4 months pregnant and was found dead with a charred body in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, in the south of Espírito Santo.
The suspects were named as the victim's ex-husband, Diego Marques Alves, and his current fiancée, Geovana Maria Vieira. The two were arrested red-handed for concealing a corpse. The suspect has an 11-year-old son with Juliana.
According to delegate Felipe Vivas, responsible for the case, the suspect confessed to the crime and stated that he killed his ex-partner because of disagreements and legal problems.
Juliana and her ex-partner had been separated since the beginning of the year and, in May, she obtained a protective measure against him. In July, there was also a request for protection made by the couple's son, which was still awaiting a court decision.
The investigation began after Juliana's current partner reported her disappearance to the Civil Police, on Monday (12).
Upon listening to the victim's mother, a police officer received information about a situation considered unusual: in the early hours of her disappearance, the woman left the house accompanied by her son to find her ex-partner, Diego, who lived in the Zumbi neighborhood.
According to the report, Diego initially backed away when he realized that Juliana was with the boy. He then took them both back home, in the Rui Pinto Bandeira neighborhood.
Later, however, he got in touch with his ex-partner again and asked her to return to the property without her son. Juliana told the boy that she would meet his father again and left the house.
Images from the video surveillance system showed the suspect's vehicle, a Volkswagen Beetle, heading towards the Zumbi neighborhood at around 3:20 am. The vehicle reappeared in the images around 5 am.
The video shows that the car passed a gas station in the area of Avenida Jones dos Santos Neves, where the suspect filled up. The current companion, Geovana, was in the vehicle and suggested that more fuel be added, on the grounds that the destination was far away.
Afterwards, the man headed towards the Monte Virgínia region, in the rural area of the city, returning at around 6am and passing through the São Luís Gonzaga and Coronel Borges neighborhoods, before taking his companion to Hospital Evangélico.
At first, Diego tried to create an alibi and told the police that he had stayed up all night because Geovana was having health problems and needed medical attention. He also denied having found Juliana or her son that morning.
The version was compared with images from video surveillance cameras and the police team also searched the Mount Lebanon region, where they found the burned body and a sandal recognized by family members as belonging to the victim.
The forensic examination found that the remains were those of a person and identified characteristics compatible with Juliana. According to the police, it would still be necessary to carry out a DNA test to formally confirm the identity.
However, during interrogation, Diego later confessed to the murder and stated that he killed his ex-partner because of disagreements and legal problems related to protective measures.
The suspect said that, when Juliana arrived at the property, he played music and immobilized her with a blow known as a 'tie', until the woman lost consciousness. Diego then stabbed the victim in the neck with a knife.
The man dismembered the victim's body in the bathroom of the house and used running water to wash the blood from the scene. Diego then transported the remains to the rural town of Monte Virgínia, where he set fire to the body.
The police also identified images in which the suspect appears refueling the vehicle and lifting the hood of the Volkswagen Beetle, where the trunk of this car model is located. According to Deputy Vivas, the recording shows a cloth hidden in the compartment.
The man tried to take responsibility for the crime alone and claimed that his current partner was sleeping during the murder. The Civil Police, however, suspect that Geovana participated in the action, as she was inside the vehicle and also tried to forge an alibi, sending messages and photos to a friend, stating that she was at home at the time of the crime.
For the delegate, the first attempt to attract Juliana to the property was frustrated by the presence of the couple's son. The police reported that, until then, there was no information about sexual violence. The investigation also identified an injury to the victim's head.
According to the Civil Police, the man knew that Juliana was four months pregnant, but the ex-couple had a history of conflicts and attacks, and the crime was premeditated.
Juliana Paulo Pinto, 29 years old, was approximately four months pregnant and was last seen on Monday (12). Her body was found charred on Wednesday (14), in a rural area close to the Monte Virgínia neighborhood.
The case is investigated under the hypothesis of feminicide, in addition to other crimes. The couple was charged with hiding a corpse and sent to the prison system, where they remain at the disposal of the Justice Department. Furthermore, the police authority represented the temporary arrest of the two investigated for the crimes of feminicide and abortion without consent.
