Suspect of killing app driver canceled trips with men before accepting ride with victim, police say

The 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of killing app driver Pâmela Letícia Nolastro Cunha, 29, canceled three travel calls that would have been made by male drivers before accepting the ride with the victim.

The information was passed on by Uber to the Civil Police and is included in the investigation into the crime.

Given the progress of the investigations, the delegate responsible for the case asked the Court to extend the temporary arrest of João Vitor de Andrade Lima for another 30 days.

The suspect has been in prison since October 8, when he confessed to stabbing the victim to death.

According to the Civil Police, the data sent by the transport platform indicates the history of requests made by the person being investigated on the day of the crime. Before boarding Pâmela's vehicle, João Vitor refused previous attempts with other drivers.

In testimony, he claimed that he committed the murder to steal the woman's car and pass the vehicle on to drug traffickers as "exchange currency" for transporting drugs in Paraguay, for the value of R$2,000.

Pâmela disappeared on October 7th after accepting a race that started from Jardim Redentor, in Bauru (SP), heading to the Café Museum region, in Piratininga (SP).

Security cameras recorded the moment when João Vitor crossed Avenida Rafael Pereira Martini and entered the driver's vehicle.

Messages sent by her on a chat app show that the passenger was having difficulty paying for the trip and indicated the approximate location where she was.

The victim's body was located on October 8 on a dirt road in the rural area of ​​Piratininga, with stab marks. The car was found abandoned on the same day, in Jardim Redentor, with blood stains inside.

The knife used in the action was seized by teams from the 3rd Homicide Police Station of the Specialized Criminal Investigations Division (Deic).

Initially, the suspect denied direct participation, but confessed to the crime after being confronted with the surveillance images. The case remains under investigation as a robbery.