Kriti Mehrotra
It was June 2010 when 25-year-old Brazilian model and actress Eliza Silva Samudio vanished without leaving a trace behind, only for it to soon come to light that she had been murdered. The motive behind it, as explored in Netflix’s ‘An Invisible Victim: The Eliza Samudio Case,’ was apparently her public allegations of abuse and infidelity by local soccer star Bruno Fernandes. However, this professional goalkeeper, as well as the father of the former’s then-4-month-old son, was not her sole perpetrator — 9 more individuals were arrested in connection to the matter.
Dayanne Rodrigues Has Since Moved Forward
According to records, one of the first people of interest apart from Bruno was actually his wife, Dayanne Rodrigues do Carmo Souza, because his toddler son was found with a friend of hers. The truth is the couple was separated at the time, yet they often spoke not only for the sake of their own child but also because of their history — they have known each other since they were teens. Therefore, per the show, when the Flamengo club captain came to her with his youngest and asked to care for him for a week because Eliza was taking care of some personal matter, she agreed.
Dayanne has always insisted that even though she did take Eliza’s son without question and was at Bruno’s estate leading up to when she was last seen alive there, she had no hand in her murder. In the end, in March 2013, she was acquitted of the charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment in connection to what happened to Eliza and Bruno’s son, meaning she was granted full freedom. From what we can tell, her divorce from the athlete has since been finalized, and she has been trying her best to move on from the past so as to focus on her current family in Rio Di Janeiro.
Luiz “Macarrão” Henrique Romão Has Attained a Little Bit of Freedom
Bruno’s childhood friend as well as right-hand man, Luiz Henrique Romão, aka Macarrão, was the next to come under suspicion as he was the one who had allegedly handed Dayanna the baby. However, investigators subsequently uncovered that his role in this whole ordeal was much bigger than anyone ever expected — he had reportedly transported Eliza to a former cop to be killed. According to court records, though, alleged mastermind Bruno actually accused him of orchestrating this murder so that they could continue reaping the benefits of the former’s career without issues.
The fact that Macarrão has a massive tattoo on his back dedicated to his friendship with Bruno made this accusation quite believable too, yet he was ultimately only convicted of murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced to a total of 12 years for his hand in Eliza’s death before being handed an additional three years for dangerously and forcibly kidnapping then-4-month-old toddler Bruninho Samudio. As per reports, his good behavior resulted in him receiving leniency in 2018 under a work release program, so he can now be with family at home or work during the day before having to return to prison at night.
Marcos “Bola” Aparecido dos Santos Remains Behind Bars
As mentioned above, Eliza was allegedly killed by a former cop, only for that individual to ultimately be positively identified as Marcos Aparecido dos Santos, aka Bola, of Rio Di Janeiro, Brazil. According to the show and official documents, he murdered the 25-year-old single mother inside his apartment by tying her up to a chair before placing her in a strong, unbreakable chokehold. He allegedly strangled her to death before he, Macarrão, and one of Bruno’s relatives carefully mutilated her body to either be disposed of or fed to his dogs and those at a nearby kennel.
But alas, when investigators actually executed a search warrant on his apartment, they found no blood traces, bone fragments, or anything else to concretely ascertain Eliza had been killed there. Nevertheless, with a confession from Bruno’s relative, Bola was formally convicted of murder as well as concealing a corpse in 2012, for which he later received a total of 34 years in prison. Since then, as per records, he has been found guilty of three other unrelated homicides dating back to at least as early as 2009, so he remains incarcerated in a Civil Police Center to this day.
Jorge Luiz Rosa Unfortunately Died in 2022
It was Bruno’s 17-year-old nephew Jorge who confessed not long after he started being questioned about his involvement in Eliza’s murder since he and Macarrão were seen with her in early June 2010. He actually claimed an intense argument had driven him to strike her in the head with the back of a gun, yet that was before she had even been kidnapped to Bruno’s ranch in Belo Horizonte. He alleged it was there that she was really abused at the hands of her ex as well as Macarrão before he and the latter put her in a Range Rover to be taken to Bola’s apartment in Rio de Janeiro.
According to Jorge, he had no idea the plan was to kill Eliza, so he was reportedly left shell-shocked when Bola asphyxiated her to death in front of his eyes before mutilating her for disposal. As per the docuseries, he was so traumatized by this ordeal that he was shaking when they actually took him to Bola’s apartment to corroborate his story, resulting in him only being convicted of assault. He was thus released from prison for good in 2022, unaware he unfortunately be shot to death in an unrelated matter merely two weeks later – he was merely 29 at the time.
Elenilson Vítor da Silva is Leading a Quiet Life These Days
While there were many who were arrested for Eliza’s murder, Elenilson was one of the few whose exact hand in the matter has never been clear. He was reportedly at the ranch when she was last seen alive as Bruno’s employee, following which he reportedly helped clean up the space and inadvertently became an accomplice. However, because the courts understood that he had no actual hand in her demise, he was acquitted of the charges against him for good. Since then, it appears as if he has been leading a quiet life well away from the limelight and focusing on his own personal as well as professional growth.
Wemerson “Coxinha” Marques de Souza Role in Eliza’s Murder Wasn’t Clear
Like Elenilson, even Wemerson Marques de Souza, aka Coxinha, was charged as an accomplice in Eliza’s 2010 demise but was later acquitted owing to there being no proof against her. Like Dayanne and Wemerson, she was simply doing her job and listening to the orders of the people she trusted, unaware she’d find herself right in the middle of arguably the most infamous case in Brazil in the past couple of decades. Since then, it appears as if she has decided to keep both her personal and professional lives private in order to avoid public scrutiny and is simply doing her best to move on. In other words, little is known about her, especially as she has never gotten into any other legal trouble either.
Fernanda Gomes de Castro Was Sentenced to 5 Years
Although not a part of Bruno’s inner circle per se, Fernanda inadvertently got involved in Eliza’s murder when her ex-boyfriend Bruno called her out of the blue to ask if she could care for a baby for a while. Her readily agreeing to this matter and then knowing of Eliza and Bruninho’s kidnapping didn’t help her case in the long run, resulting in her being sentenced to 5 years behind bars plus probation. She was actually convicted of kidnapping and false imprisonment of both Eliza and Bruninho, only to be allowed to enter into a work release program like Macarrão a few years later. In other words, now that this case has been closed for more than a decade, she has completed her term and her freedom in every sense. So, today, she is doing her best to lead a straight life to provide for her family in Rio de Janeiro, all the while doing her best to move on from the past.
Sérgio Rosa Salles Died in 2012
Last but not least, we have Sergio, Bruno’s cousin, who was a key witness in this entire matter after confessing to witnessing some of the abuse Eliza endured. He was charged as an accomplice too, but not long after he gave his testimony, he was brutally killed in the Minaslândia neighborhood of Belo Horizonte. According to police reports, he was on his way to work when two men on a motorcycle started following him not far from Bruno’s ranch, and even though he tried hiding in a nearby house, they caught up with him. In the end, on August 22, 2012, he was killed with a total of six brutal shots to the body. It’s unfortunately still unclear whether his murder had any relation to this case or not.
Read More: Sônia Moura: Where is Eliza Samudio’s Mother Now?
