The woman allegedly involved in the incident of wheeling a deceased man into a Brazilian bank has been seen in handcuffs as authorities search for the driver who transported them to the mall.
Fresh details have emerged regarding the unusual event that occurred in the Bangu neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. Erika de Souza, 42, reportedly pushed the body of Roberto Braga, 68, to a bank teller's desk in an attempt to withdraw 17,000 reais (around $3,200).
Bank staff grew alarmed by de Souza's actions as she attempted to have the lifeless Braga sign a document and promptly alerted the police, who apprehended her at the scene.
Fábio Souza, Chief of the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police, revealed to Brazilian news outlet G1 on Wednesday that while he couldn't determine the exact time of Braga's passing, evidence of cadaver spots on the back of his head suggested he had been deceased for approximately two hours.
In addition, new footage has emerged showing Erika maneuvering the corpse around the mall before pushing it into the bank.
Auto DraftOn Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, authorities arrested Érika de Souza (pictured) for attempting to have her deceased uncle, Paulo Braga, sign a loan document at a bank while he was seated in a wheelchair.
Auto DraftSurveillance footage captured Érika de Souza pushing a wheelchair containing the deceased body of her uncle, Paulo Braga, before she attempted to withdraw $3,200 from his bank account.
Auto DraftAuthorities stated that if Roberto had passed away while seated in the wheelchair, the cadaver marks would have appeared on his legs.
"It is not possible to say the exact moment of death," Souza explained. "It was found by Samu (Mobile Emergency Attendance Service) that there was (livor mortis). This only happens from the moment of death, but is only noticeable around two hours after death."
Souza disclosed that investigators were dispatched to locate the rideshare driver who had dropped off de Souza and her deceased uncle at the bank.
De Souza, who faces charges of attempted theft by fraud and desecration of a corpse, was questioned by authorities on Wednesday morning.
She informed the police that Braga had died while they were at the bank, a statement that law enforcement is challenging.
"In my 22-year career I have never seen a story like this," Souza remarked.
According to the police chief, bank customers and employees initially believed Braga was unwell before they called for an ambulance. A video that went viral, recorded by a bank employee, showed de Souza holding Braga's head and urging him, "Uncle, are you listening? You have to sign it. I can't sign for you."
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Auto DraftA bank employee expressed concern to de Souza, saying, "I don't think this is legal. He doesn't look well. He's very pale."
"He's like that," she responded, addressing her deceased uncle. "If you're not well, I can take you to hospital. Do you want to go back to hospital again?"
De Souza then urged Braga, "Sign so you don't give me any more headaches, I can't take it anymore."
Fábio Souza are also investigating the relationship between de Souza and Braga.
"She calls herself his niece. In fact, she has a degree of kinship, according to our research," he said. "And she calls herself his caretaker. We want to identify other family members."
