Mother Bernadete was killed with 25 shots in September 2023, in Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares, in Simões Filho — Photo: Reproduction/TV Globo
Josevan Dionísio dos Santos went to the popular jury three years after the crime and, according to the sentence, will serve his sentence in an initially closed regime. The information was released by the Court of Justice of Bahia (TJ-BA).
The homicide took place in August 2023, in the Pitanga dos Palmares quilombo, in Simões Filho, in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador. Mother Bernadette was inside her own house, with her three grandchildren, when two men wearing helmets entered the property, took the young people out of the room and fired 25 shots at the religious leader.
The police investigation concluded that the crime was committed at the behest of a drug trafficking boss in the region. Another five suspects are identified as involved in the case, four of them directly linked to the murder.
Arielson da Conceição dos Santos and Marílio dos Santos were convicted in April this year. Two days later, Marílio died after an exchange of gunfire with military police officers. Three others are still to be tried. (Check the history below)
Appointed as the perpetrator of the crime, Arielson da Conceição dos Santos received a sentence of 40 years, 5 months and 22 days in prison. Marílio dos Santos, who is alleged to have ordered the crime and was on the run, but had a lawyer, and therefore went to jury, received 29 years and 9 months in prison.
Initially, the first trial had been scheduled for March 24, but was postponed after the defendants requested a new defense, according to the Court of Justice of Bahia (TJ-BA).
Investigations
Six men are suspected of involvement in the crime. See what is known about the role of each of them:
➡️ Marílio dos Santos: appointed as head of the group
Man identified as having ordered the murder of Mãe Bernadete is the only fugitive among suspects — Photo: Divulgação/SSP-BA
Head of drug trafficking in the region, he allegedly had Mother Bernadette killed because of her opposition to the group's criminal actions.
Despite remaining a fugitive, the court ordered Marílio to appear on the popular jury because he has a lawyer appointed.
➡️ Arielson da Conceição dos Santos: suspect in the execution
He is in preventive custody and went before the popular jury this Tuesday (14).
➡️ Josevan Dionísio: suspect in the execution
Josevan Dionisio dos Santos, known as "BZ" or "Buzuim", is suspected of involvement in the death of Mãe Bernadete — Photo: SSP-BA
Josevan was arrested in September 2025, two years after the crime, when he took his partner and two children hostage in Simões Filho.
There is still no date for the trial.
➡️ Sérgio Ferreira de Jesus: suspected of receiving cell phones
On the day of the crime, Mãe Bernadete and her family's cell phones were stolen. Sérgio would have been responsible for receiving these devices.
Furthermore, he is identified as the instigator of the crime, after a disagreement motivated by a scolding from the religious leader. He would have pointed out to the executioners the best route to kill the quilombola leader.
There is still no date for the trial.
➡️ Ydney Carlos dos Santos de Jesus: suspected of assisting in the plan
Another suspect involved in the death of Mãe Bernadete is arrested in Salvador. — Photo: Disclosure/Civil Police
Before she was killed, Mãe Bernadette had a heated argument with Ydney, who owned a tent that held parties for drug sales in the region. He is identified as one of the drug leaders and suspected of assisting in the plan.
There is still no date for the trial.
➡️ Carlos Conceição Santiago: suspected of escaping
He is suspected of having stored the weapons used in the crime and of letting Arielson escape.
There is still no date for the trial.
Family was compensated
State and Union compensate Mother Bernadete's family — Photo: Janaína Galdino/Ascom PGE
In 2025, Mãe Bernadete's family filed a compensation action against the Union and the Government of Bahia. The process highlights flaws that led to the murder of the ialorixá and problems that occur after the crime.
g1 had access to the document in which the family's defense requested the amount of R$11.8 million in moral damages for the three grandchildren who were with the victim on the day of the crime and a daughter of the quilombola leader. The woman is the mother of young people.
At the time of the crime, the ialorixá had been under the protection of the Military Police (PM), through the Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights of Bahia (SJDH) for at least two years. In the compensation action, there are complaints against the federal government, state government and the protection program.
In February this year, the State Attorney General's Office (PGE) reported that payments relating to compensation to Mãe Bernadete's family members had been completed. Despite this, the agency detailed that the amount of payments is confidential.
The case was handled by PGE and was resolved through an administrative agreement and the son of the religious leader, Jurandy Pacifico, highlighted that the action has a protective, as well as symbolic, character.
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