A 25-year-old woman has been arrested in Rio de Janeiro for allegedly hiring two gunmen to murder a young mother in order to take custody of her four-year-old daughter.
Gabrielle Cristine Pinheiro Rosário surrendered to police on Monday, nearly two weeks after 21-year-old Laís de Oliveira Gomes Pereira was shot dead while pushing her 20-month-old son in a pram on November 4 in Sepetiba.
According to investigators, the killing stemmed from a custody dispute involving the victim’s daughter. Police believe Rosário paid two men 20,000 Brazilian Real (about £3,000) to ambush and shoot Pereira on a public street.
“The lawyers contacted us stating her willingness to turn herself in. The case is closed. There is no doubt she ordered the crime based on evidence we collected — testimonies, cell phone data and other materials,” a police spokesperson said, adding that authorities will now request preventive detention.
Rosário’s lawyer, however, claims her client does not know the two men who were arrested for carrying out the shooting. Investigators say they uncovered text messages showing “obsessive” behaviour toward the child and linking Rosário to the suspects, including detailed knowledge of the victim’s movements before the attack. One of the suspects was detained after reportedly being turned in by his own mother.
Pereira, described by friends as a loving and devoted parent, leaves behind two young children.
The case comes as another high-profile murder in the United States makes headlines, involving adult film star Devyn Michaels, who was recently found guilty of killing her ex-husband after marrying her stepson.
