A woman was seen bringing her deceased ‘uncle’ to a Brazilian bank for a purported ‘loan fraud’, was caught on camera moving the body in a taxi and even solicited the support of the oblivious taxi driver to help her wheel him into a wheelchair – potentially disclosing a pivotal detail that could lead to her imprisonment.
Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes, aged 42, was captured on a CCTV clip taking a hired car with Paulo Roberto Braga to a financial institution in Bangu, Rio de Janeiro, before trying to remove 17,000 reais (approximately £2,600) on April 16.
Nunes maintains she was unaware her elderly relative was dead when she took him to the bank – while a newly-emerged video clip shows her struggling to haul Braga from the vehicle and into a wheelchair with assistance from the cab driver.
The clip was filmed in a parking lot near the bank shortly after 1 pm on Tuesday, the same time an autopsy proposed he probably died between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm that day.
However, in the midst of an exhaustive police investigation, a singular crucial detail offers fresh insights about how and when Braga might have died on Tuesday, disputing claims of him dying in the bank.
Photos
The woman with her ‘uncle’ in a wheelchair as shown in a newly available CCTV footage on April 16
Preparing the wheelchair as the cab driver went to assist the man from the seat
The cab driver who is now under questioning, helped Souza move the man to the chair
An onlooker turned to watch as she moved towards the taxi, her ‘uncle’ still in the chair
The bank employees began recording the pair and wound up calling for an ambulance and the police as Érika de Souza used her hand to hold up Paulo Braga’s head and said to him, ‘Uncle, can you hear me? You need to sign it. I can’t sign it for you’
A shocking video that circulated this week showed Souza steering Roberto Braga, aged 68, to a bank cashier’s counter and trying to remove money on Tuesday, April 16.
Bank workers became suspicious of de Souza’s actions as she tried to make Braga sign a document and alerted the police, who apprehended her at the scene.
Bank customers and employees initially assumed Braga was unwell, as indicated by the police commander, before they summoned an ambulance.
A viral video filmed by a bank staff displayed de Souza lifting Braga’s head and telling him, ‘Uncle, can you hear me? You need to sign it. I can’t sign for you.’
The video showed the woman instructing the deceased man to tightly grip his pen as she placed it between his fingers and urged him to sign a piece of paper.
Souza informed the police that Braga died while seated in his wheelchair at the bank, a claim the law enforcement authorities are contesting.
Determining Cause of death
The police commissioner, Fábio Luiz Souza, states that the manner in which his blood had gathered in his vessels suggests that Braga didn’t die while sitting in the bank but was lying down.
The police commissioner previously disclosed to a Brazilian news outlet, G1, that while he could not precisely determine the time of Braga’s death, cadaver marks that were noticeable on the back of his head suggest that he would have been dead for approximately two hours.
If Roberto had died while seated in his wheelchair, the cadaver marks would have been found on his legs, according to the authorities.
An autopsy has since deduced Braga most likely died between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm on that day.
However, the forensic pathologist who carried out the procedure cannot say with absolute certainty if he passed on en route to the bank in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Braga’s cause of death was identified as respiratory aspiration of stomach contents and heart failure.
Findings from the toxicity examinations, to determine if he was drugged, remained pending.
More photos
Souza was apprehended by the law enforcement authorities in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday after she attempted to make her dead uncle, Paulo Braga, sign a loan contract at the bank while he was seated in a wheelchair
