A cleaner in Brazil allegedly drugged an elderly couple before stabbing them to death to pay off suspected gambling debts, according to police.
Details of the attack
Paola Stefany Neto Cirino, 30, was arrested at a hotel in Itabira, Brazil, where she had fled with her six-year-old son. She allegedly confessed to putting four tablets into the juice of Maria Clotilde Moreira Maciel, 76, and her husband, Cláudio Atala Inácio, 75. After drugging them, she allegedly stabbed Inácio more than 40 times and Maciel 17 times. Despite being drugged, Inácio reportedly fought back.
Background and arrest
Paola had been recommended by a relative of the couple to carry out cleaning work at their home in Belo Horizonte. The day of the murders was her first day working at the flat, after previously working for a family member of the couple for years. Police do not believe the relative was involved.
CCTV footage showed Paola arriving at the block of flats at 7:30am and leaving eight hours later wearing different clothes, carrying two large bags and sporting Maria’s sunglasses. She was also caught on camera throwing a bloodstained blouse into a skip on a nearby street. Before fleeing, Paola reportedly told family members she had ‘done something terribly wrong’.
Financial motive
When she was arrested, police recovered belongings belonging to the couple, along with £2,587 in cash. Investigators say she obtained the money by selling the victims’ possessions – including watches, jewellery and mobile phones – in central Belo Horizonte. Police are investigating claims that Paola had accumulated gambling debts of around £5,752, allegedly owing money to a loan shark after betting online, including on the popular game Fortune Tiger.
Victims and investigation
The couple’s bodies were found by their son on Tuesday after he learned his father had failed to turn up for work. When he entered the flat, he found his parents dead with stab wounds to various parts of their bodies, including the back, throat, neck, abdomen, chin and chest, as well as defensive injuries. Maciel owned a shop in Belo Horizonte and had been a successful athlete for many years. Inácio was a founding partner of a law firm in the city and, despite his age, still worked there every day. The couple, described by relatives as ‘full of life’, had travelled extensively and had recently returned from a trip to the US. Paola is being investigated on suspicion of robbery-murder.
