The court ordered the preparation of an anthropological report on an indigenous father and son arrested for killing a young man in Roraima.
Erinel Clementino, 63, and Francinildo Clementino, 25, claimed to have killed the victim because they believed she was the "canaimé", an evil figure in indigenous belief.
The crime occurred this Tuesday (3) in the Caracaranã community. The victim was shot, stabbed with a sickle and knife, decapitated and his body was set on fire.
The judge ordered the preventive detention of the suspects.
The Court ordered the preparation of an anthropological report to investigate the particularities of the case involving two indigenous people, father and son, arrested for killing José da Silva Santana, aged 25, in the Caracaranã community, in Uiramutã, in the North of Roraima.
The suspects, Erinel Clementino, 63, and his son, Francinildo Clementino, 25, told police that they killed José because they believed he was “canaimé”, an evil figure in indigenous belief. The crime took place in the Caracaranã community, in Uiramutã.
g1 tries to locate the suspects’ defense.
Understand: in indigenous belief, the canaimé is seen as an evil being, a figure associated with supernatural powers and the practice of spells, prayers and poisons that can cause suffering or death. According to belief, he can turn invisible or transform into animals to chase and attack people, usually at night. Furthermore, when it kills someone, the canaimé tears and stuffs leaves inside the victim's body.
The study was requested by the judge on duty at the Pacaraima Criminal Court, Marcelo Batistela Moreira. The two had their arrest converted into preventive arrest and remain in prison.
In the decision, the judge highlighted the need for the anthropological report "for better and more in-depth identification and knowledge about the people in custody as an indigenous person, their ethnicity and their indigenous language/language". The material must be prepared by an expert to be appointed by the Court.
Understand: Anthropological report, also called anthropological expertise, is a technical document prepared by a professional in the field of Anthropology. It serves as a technical test to help the Court understand cultural, social, historical and identity aspects related to the people involved in a process.
Father and son are responsible for the crime of triple homicide. The murder took place in the Caracanã indigenous community, in Uiramutã, in the North, this Tuesday (3).
He also determined that the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) and the leadership of the suspects' community be notified to participate in the movements in the process.
Arrest maintained at custody hearing
At the hearing, the judge kept father and son arrested. He understood that the seriousness of the crime, the violence used against the victim and the risk to public order justified preventive detention. He also considered that alternative precautionary measures would be insufficient at this time.
"Due to the violence and the way of acting in relation to the victim and the concrete gravity of the alleged crime", he said in part of the decision, adding that "the measure [prison] is imperative for better analysis and broader ethnic, cultural and situational elucidation of the specific case".
Refinements of cruelty
José was murdered with cruelty: he was shot in the head, hit with a sickle and a knife. Afterwards, the body was set on fire. He was also beheaded. Part of the crime was recorded on video.
After the suspects' confession, the case's delegate, Arthur França, charged both of them with qualified homicide for a futile, half-cruel reason and a resource that made it impossible for the victim to defend himself. In addition, they are also responsible for the crimes of destruction and concealment of a corpse and illegal possession of a permitted firearm.
The Military Police seized a shotgun and a scythe from the suspects' home, and a knife at the scene of the crime. Furthermore, the suspects set fire to the victim's body.
Testimonials
In a statement to the Civil Police, Francinildo stated that he shot the victim with a .28 caliber shotgun, which belonged to his father, Erinel. He said the victim was running at the time of the shooting and was hit in the back of the head and neck.
The father confirmed that his son fired the shot. He stated that, after the victim fell, he used a sickle to strike two blows to the neck and about three to the abdomen. According to the version presented by him, the young man was already dead when he received the blows.
Still in testimony, Erinel said that the order to set fire to the body came from a community security guard, identified by him as "Osmar". The suspect related the decision to an alleged "puçanga", which was an enchanted amulet that belonged to the victim.
Furthermore, according to Francinildo's testimony, José was captured by members of the community and initially taken to the Flexal community, where he would be heard by leaders about being the canaimé. However, he managed to escape.
Afterwards, José was located again. Francinildo also said that family members and members of the community had already decided to kill him. Erinel presented another version: she said that the decision to kill José occurred at the moment of capture.
The Civil Police are still investigating to find out whether other people were involved in the case.
The murder
The Military Police went to the Caracaranã community at around 2pm on Tuesday after receiving a report that the homicide had occurred. At the scene, agents were guided by residents to José's body. After confirming his death, the team isolated the area and began searching to locate the suspects.
According to the suspects' testimony, the pair took the victim from the Flexal community when he tried to escape, and they killed him.
According to the PM, the version presented by the suspects was reinforced by videos recorded by themselves. The images were shared in WhatsApp groups. In one of the videos, José appears confirming that he is the canaimé and says he has the "ability to transform into animals."
The Pacaraima Civil Police were notified about the case around 8pm on Tuesday. Criminal forensics and the Legal Medical Institute (IML) were called and arrived in the community at around 2:55 pm this Wednesday (4). The case was registered as qualified homicide for futile reasons.
