February 6, 2024

10:02

Ricardo Chaves – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS (AM) – The Amazonas Civil Police (PC-AM) have arrested two men for their involvement in the deaths of a child and an indigenous mother of Colombian nationality. The case took place last Saturday, 27, in the Porto Ribeirinho community, in Benjamin Constant, 1,119 km from the capital Manaus.

The perpetrators were the victims’ uncle and brother-in-law. The uncle will be charged with aggravated rape and attempted murder, while the other individual will be charged with aggravated murder with a motive of murder and the impossibility of defending the victim.

What happened?

On Sunday, January 28, the chief Robson of the Philadelphia community called the Tabatinga Municipal Secretariat for Public Security, Traffic and Social Defense (Semsep), reporting that a community member had found a 7-year-old child in a wooded area of the locality. The child had a deep wound on his neck and swelling on the left side of his face.

The secretary of the department, Thiago Felix, instructed that the child be taken to hospital. The Guardianship Council, Civil Police and Military Police were then called. The child had difficulty verbalizing and was weak. According to delegate Luciana Lima Nasser, head of the Benjamin Constant police unit, a specialized hearing was held in the presence of a psychologist to investigate the situation.

“She told us, as best she could, what had happened and informed us of the possible perpetrators of the crime. From then on, we started working to identify those responsible. A carnal conjugation test was requested, which showed that the victim had been sexually abused”, she explained.

The child said she was collecting Mari, an Amazonian fruit, with her 4-year-old brother, and that her mother was in the house.

How were the bodies found?

In an attempt to locate the child’s relatives, the task force identified one of the victim’s aunts, who told them that the mother lived in the “Center”, the name given to the area where the community members farm.

The team, made up of Civil Defense agents, the Municipal Guard and officers from the 51st Civil Police Station, tried to locate the victim’s mother and brother. When they arrived at the house, they found that the family was not there. From then on, the search was intensified, as the mother and son were considered missing.

On the 29th, between the Tikuna villages of Porto Cordeirinho and Filadélfia, two bodies were found. The task force soon identified them as the missing woman and child. Both were at a walking distance of two hours. They were found with signs of gunshot wounds.

Identification of suspects and who are they?

After the bodies were found, work began on investigating the suspects. The joint task force between the Civil Police, Municipal Civil Guard and the support of the Military Police took ten people to the 51st Civil Police Station. These people included suspects and witnesses.

On January 30, the PC-AM arrested a 36-year-old man for his involvement in the deaths of an indigenous mother and son. He is said to be the woman’s brother-in-law and has confessed to taking part in the crime. According to CENARIUM, the suspect accused another individual of taking part in the crime.

“In his statement, he pointed to the participation of another individual and said that they were under the influence of alcohol at the time the crime happened, in a house in the countryside. He said he knew that the mother and her two children were alone in the house and went there to commit the crimes”, explained police officer Luciana Lima Nasser.

According to the delegate, the Peruvian confessed to being the perpetrator of the aggravated rape against his niece and also claimed to have pierced the victim’s neck with a knife.

“When his mother was shot, the boy got scared and fled the scene, but was then chased and killed. The children’s mother was killed with a shotgun and was also raped,” she explained.

According to the police chief, the Peruvian not only raped the 7-year-old girl, but also kicked her in the face, broke her jaw and caused her to lose several teeth.

“The child will even have to have surgery on her jaw. The two individuals have been charged in the act and we have also represented their pre-trial detention,” he said.

Read more: Federal government monitors investigation into brutal killing of indigenous people in Amazonas

Edited by Jefferson Ramos
Reviewed by Gustavo Gilona
Translated by Bruno Sena