The police arrested, in the early hours of Saturday (24), a 40-year-old man suspected of involvement in the death of Jean Victor Sousa Guimarães, aged 22, and the disposal of the body in a vacant lot in the West Zone of São Paulo. He is identified as a member of the criminal faction Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC).
Security cameras recorded the moment when four men arrived at the property by car, removed the body, abandoned it at the scene and fled.
The case is among the 17 deaths investigated by the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP). The bodies were found between September 5th and October 22nd, an interval of almost 50 days.
Of the total, 14 bodies were found in the capital of São Paulo. Among the victims, 12 were men. Another three bodies were located in Greater São Paulo, in the municipalities of Diadema, Itapecerica da Serra and São Bernardo do Campo.
According to the Civil Police, the cases are investigated separately. The corporation has already identified ten suspects involved in the deaths of four people whose bodies were found in the capital. Police called for the arrest of at least ten suspects. One of them was arrested for drug possession.
The Civil Police continues investigations to identify and arrest those responsible for the remaining cases. According to the police, so far there is no evidence that the crimes are linked to each other.
Investigation
The São Paulo Civil Police requested on Friday (23) the arrest of eight adults and the apprehension of two teenagers suspected of involvement in the homicides of four people whose bodies were found in the capital between September 5 and October 22.
According to the ministry, four people are suspected of one of the murders, three of another, two of a third and one was identified as the perpetrator of a fourth homicide.
The four cases were clarified by the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP), which continues to investigate the other incidents to identify those responsible.
The Secretary of Public Security, Osvaldo Nico Gonçalves, stated that the general delegate of the Civil Police, Artur Dian, ordered the reinforcement of teams from three other departments in the investigations.
"These four cases have already been elucidated by the DHPP, which continues to work to identify the perpetrators and arrest those responsible for each of the other crimes. Furthermore, the general delegate, Artur Dian, ordered the reinforcement of teams from three other departments in the investigations of the other cases", stated the secretary.
17 bodies
In an interval of 48 days, between September 5th and October 22nd, the Civil Police recorded at least 17 incidents investigated as homicides after bodies were found abandoned in streets and forested areas in the capital and Greater São Paulo.
Although the sequence of cases has raised questions about a possible connection between the crimes, the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) reaffirms that there is, so far, no elements that indicate the same authorship or the action of a "serial killer" _ due to the rumor that appeared on the internet.
Of the 17 bodies found with signs of torture and execution, 14 were in the city of São Paulo and are being investigated by the State Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP). The other three were left in Itapecerica da Serra, Diadema and São Bernardo do Campo, where these cases are investigated by the local police stations responsible for the areas.
Behind the scenes of the investigations, however, one of the hypotheses evaluated by police officers is that part of the murders is related to the so-called "crime court" _ a practice adopted by criminal factions, such as the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), to judge and execute people accused of breaking rules imposed by the group. This investigative line, however, does not cover all cases, which are analyzed individually.
Some of the corpses were found bagged, tied up, dismembered, decapitated or shot. Some of the victims had previous criminal records for crimes such as drug trafficking and kidnapping.
For judge Ivana David, of the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP), the various bodies left on the streets of São Paulo demonstrate that criminals are defying the security forces.
"I think that within the context and especially this context of bodies being abandoned within the State, the impression we have from everything we study and know is that they are challenging the security system and the justice system", Ivana told TV Globo.
"But what draws attention are so many deaths in such a short period of time. What was your impression? There was a joint effort in the 'crime court' for so many deaths to happen in such a short time, which was a little over a month. So I think the big challenge and what we have to try to find out is why all this is happening at once", added the judge.
When contacted by the reporting team to comment on the matter, Osvaldo Nico Gonçalves, Secretary of Public Security (SSP), said that the police are committed to clarifying who was responsible for the crimes.
"Each person has their own investigation. There are cases with preventive detention ordered. There are cases in which we already have six suspects of having committed this type of crime. So I don't see any connection between one case and another," said Nico.
