The weapon of the Army soldier Maria de Lourdes Freire Matos, 25 years old, murdered by the soldier of the same institution Kelvin Barros da Silva, 21 years old, was found in a sewer this Saturday afternoon (12/06), in Paranoá (DF). THE Metropolises had access to the video which shows army soldiers retrieving the weapon from a manhole, in a street in Paranoá, the region where the feminicide resided.
The revolver that belonged to Maria was wrapped in a military uniform. Barros allegedly threw the weapon in an attempt to hide evidence of femicide. The soldier went to the DF Civil Police (PCDF) and confessed to the crime.
The soldier saw his arrest transformed into a preventive arrest this Saturday (12/06), after undergoing a custody hearing at the Custody Hearings Center (NAC).
The crime
Maria de Lourdes was a corporal in the army, having entered service five months ago as a musician. She was found dead by firefighters (CBMDF).
The feminicide occurred in the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment (RCG). In a statement to the Civil Police (PCDF), Barros confessed to being responsible and said that the crime occurred after an argument between the two.
According to Barros, they had a relationship. “After an argument in which the woman asked him to break up with his current girlfriend and take her back, as promised by the perpetrator, the victim pulled out his firearm,” commented delegate Paulo Noritika.
“He allegedly held the pistol while she tried to load it. In the meantime, he managed to reach the victim’s military knife, which was on her waist, and hit her deeply in the neck,” detailed the delegate.
Noritika further said that the victim was found with a sharp weapon at the scene of the injury. “After that, in desperation, he grabbed a lighter and some alcohol, set fire to where the group was based and fled, taking the gun with him and getting rid of it,” he said. Firefighters were called to put out the flames.
Family denies any relationship
The defense of the corporal’s family denies any link between the victim and his assassin. “It is false that Maria had any relationship with the attacker,” said the office which defends the family, in a statement published on social networks.
The family believes that the fact that Maria was a corporal and held a higher position than Barros, who was a soldier, may have motivated the crime.
“This context testifies to the non-acceptance of female authority. Maria was lured, stabbed and set on fire on the spot, in a context of extreme violence directed against her status as a woman”, underlined the defense of the victim’s family. The 25-year-old was described as discreet, serious and focused on her studies.
Expelled from the army
The soldier who confessed to killing Corporal Maria de Lourdes Freire Matos on Friday (12/5) will be expelled from the army.
In a note sent to Metropolisesthe military said the soldier was immediately taken to the Brasilia Army Police Battalion Prison, where he remains incarcerated, “in response to criminal proceedings, and should be excluded from the ranks of the Force and held responsible for the act committed.”
“The Brazilian Army provides its full support to the family and deeply regrets the loss of the corporal and reiterates its position of not supporting criminal acts and rigorously punishing those responsible,” the note said.
According to the text, a military police investigation (IPM) was opened. “The investigations began immediately, with on-site investigations carried out by the Armed Police, the Civil Police and the Federal District Fire Brigade, as well as other investigations which led to the arrest of the suspect of having committed the crime,” informed the Army.
The Union Military Court (JMU) requested, this Saturday (12/06), the handling of the case of army soldier Kelvin Barros da Silva. The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) will decide who will judge the jurisdiction of the case.
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