Motivation for the Deaths of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips Will Define the Path of the Legal Process (Portuguese)

• Federal Police denied in a note the hypothesis of a "crime of command".
• Univaja criticized in a note the denial by the Federal Police of a possible "crime of command".
• Relatives of "Dos Santos" and "Pelado" were heard by the Civil Police.

Why did they kill Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips? The answer to this question will define the path of the Justice process, according to sources close to the investigation heard by Agência Pública in Atalaia do Norte (AM).

If the case remains in state court, the Public Prosecutor's Office may request a change of venue to the city of Manaus (AM), i.e., request that the future Jury Tribunal be held in the capital of Amazonas, about 1,100 km as the crow flies from Atalaia do Norte (AM). The measure would circumvent possible difficulties in the choice of the jury and political and social pressures, since the family of the accused is large and well-known in the region.

The inquiry into the murders is currently being conducted by the Civil Police in the State of Amazonas under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the state courts. A second inquiry, into the disappearances, is being handled by the Federal Police.

For the Civil Police, the authorship of the crime was solved based on a confession by fisherman Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, also known as "Pelado", as well as the report of witnesses, the work of technical experts, and a reconstruction of the crime that resulted in the location of the remains in an area near the São Gabriel community. The forensics on the bodies will be concluded during the course of next week, according to a note from the Federal Police.