Police officers from the Homicide Division of Niterói, Itaboraí and São Gonçalo, who are investigating the family’s execution in Niterói, do not believe that Rayssa dos Santos Ferreira, aged 23, knew that her husband Filipe Rodrigues, aged 24, pretended to be a military police officer to negotiate with criminals. The couple was shot dead, along with their son Miguel Filipe dos Santos Rodrigues, only seven months old, on March 17th, but forensics indicate that the target of the more than twenty shots that hit the car the family was in, It was just Filipe, who was in the driver’s seat.
The expert also pointed out that the shots were fired with a rifle and a .40 pistol, which shows that at least two perpetrators participated in the action.
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Delegate Willians Batista de Souza, head of the specialized department, said that the motivation for the case became clearer after Filipe’s cell phone, found at the crime scene, was examined.
“We seized Filipe’s phone and on that phone we were able to identify a plausible reason for Filipe’s death and, consequently, that of Rayssa and little Miguel. Filipe did all the criminal negotiations by pretending to be a Military Policeman. He even sent the drug dealer a print of a conversation between him and a superior of the PM. But when we followed the line, we discovered that it was Filipe’s own number. In other words, he forged a conversation with a supposed superior to demand the resolution of the case with the criminals”, explained the delegate.
Willians also reported that “He was aware of police activities and had knowledge of the gang’s routine. When they discover that he is not a police officer, the criminals decide to kill him, considering that he poses a danger to the group’s activities,” he explained.
The delegate also explained that investigations proved that two days before he died Filipe attracted the alleged informant – whose identification he gave in exchange for R$50,000 – to the criminals.
“On the 15th, two days before his death, Filipe offered to set up an ambush against the supposed informant, – supposed, as we cannot say that it really was. Filipe sets up a fake romantic encounter to attract the victim and we know that the person who caught the victim was Wesley, who was arrested today. The victim is from Itaguaí and had a missing persons report that confirmed everything that was being investigated, such as the location of the ambush, date, time. The day after that, Filipe starts negotiating the payment of the remaining amount. And in conversation, the criminals say that getting the X9 was ‘hard work’ and claim that ‘they’ve already finished it’. This information is also confirmed by the Occurrence Record which reports that the victim fought to avoid getting into the criminals’ car”,
On the night of the crime, the police believe that Filipe no longer intended to leave the house. “Initially the agreement was that Filipe would receive the amount at home. Wesley would make the payment. But, later, they changed the location to attract him to a dark place. Filipe left home believing it would be a quick exit. He was drawn closer to the community and waited there. The forensic investigation showed that they were not followed to the location and that the car was stopped, with the engine running, when they were surprised by the gunshots”, explained the police chief.
“Filipe was part of a criminal plot full of betrayal. He trusted that at that moment he would receive the amount, to the point of going with his wife and son”, concluded Willians, adding that the investigations are not over and that the searches will continue to identify and arrest all the executors.
