London: Brazilian goalkeeper Bruno Souza has been charged with the murder of his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Eliza Samudio. He reportedly fathered her four-month-old baby.
According to The Telegraph, Samudio’s body is yet to be found, but the police has wrapped up an initial phase of their investigation by saying that Souza masterminded her murder.
Police in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais said Souza, who plays for Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo team, was also charged with kidnapping, hiding the body, forming a criminal gang and corrupting minors.
“Forensic police will prove that Eliza is dead,” the officer in charge of the investigation, Edson Moreira, was quoted, as saying.
He added that inquiries are continuing to bolster evidence and attempts to find the body.
Seven other people, including an ex-policeman suspected of carrying out the premeditated murder on Souza’s orders, have also been charged. Souza’s wife was among them.
Samudio disappeared last month after being taken to Souza’s second residence near the southern city of Belo Horizonte.
It is believed that Samudio had been demanding child support. The baby was found in the care of Souza’s wife, the paper states.
Souza has been suspended from Flamengo, Brazil’s most popular club, which he once captained.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, July 31, 2010, 13:49