Friday July 9, 2010
Brazilian Soccer Star Accused of Ordering Lover’s Murder for Refusing Abortion
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bruno Fernandes de Souza, goalkeeper, captain and idol of fans of Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo soccer club, has been arrested for suspicion of arranging the murder of his one-time mistress Eliza Samudio.
Samudio, who was described by the newspaper O Globo as “a student, model and pornographic film actress,” was seeking to prove that de Souza was the father of her now 4-month-old son who she called Bruninho (Little Bruno).
Samudio had been seeking a court order for DNA testing to prove de Souza’s paternity of the child, telling the media that after she told the footballer she was pregnant by him, he tried to force her to take drugs to cause a miscarriage and later tried to take her by force to an abortionist. She went to the police instead.
In a glimpse into the often sordid world of pro soccer, de Souza, though admitting he had sex with Samudio at a party with other players of the club in May of last year, refused to acknowledge that he may have fathered the child.
“It was an orgy. These parties are common in our circle. I was with her, everyone was with her,” he told Veja magazine before his arrest.
The focus of the investigation turned toward de Souza when his 17-year-old cousin told police he heard Bruno tell two friends to “resolve the problem” after they had lured Samudio to his country retreat outside Belo Horizonte.
In his statement he told police that he witnessed the woman being tied up and strangled, and then her remains fed to four Rottweilers.
According to a report by The Guardian, police believe de Souza lured Samudio to the small town outside of Rio de Janeiro where she was beaten, killed by an accomplice, and had some of her body parts fed to dogs, while the rest was buried under concrete.
“Bruno was there and he saw how the woman was completely broken,” Edson Moreira, the homicide investigator in charge of the case, told reporters, adding that the soccer player was a “monster for what he did to this young lady.”
Police have also arrested de Souza’s wife, Dayana Rodrigues, who was found to have arranged for the care of the missing woman’s baby in a friend’s home.
For his part de Souza denies any involvement in Samudio’s disappearance, and through his lawyer, Michel Assef Filho, told reporters that he is “horrified” by the claims made in his cousin’s statement.
Commenting on the Samudio case, and why so many soccer players are involved in scandals, psychoanalyst Socrates Nolasco dans Istoe told the Brazilian press that those who gain fame and money through sports are sometimes ill-equipped to understand the moral consequences of their behavior.
“Quickly gaining glory and wealth, they think they can do everything, they are above the law,” dans Istoe said.