Millionaire mum allegedly paid handyman to kill cheating boyfriend
A millionaire businesswoman is accused of paying a hitman nearly GBP 30,000 (A$55,317) to bump off her boyfriend after she found out he had cheated on her.
CCTV footage shows the moment a real estate agent allegedly hired by the woman as a hitman arrives outside the victim's residence.
Vitor Lucio Jacinto, 42, was killed on June 17 in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo.
Police have arrested Anne Cripirano Frigo, 46, under the suspicion she allegedly paid Carlos Lex Ribeiro de Souza, 28, the hefty sum to carry out the murder.
The pair were taken into custody on June 29.
Ms Frigo inherited her wealth from her family, who made its fortune in the cardboard industry. She also owns the indoor playground Museu da Imaginacao (Imagination Museum) in Sao Paulo.
She had been in a relationship with the victim, whom she met through a dating app, for four years.
Vitor worked as a security guard at a restaurant at the time, and he left his job when his relationship with Ms Frigo took off, with his new girlfriend paying his way into a new life.
The couple lived a life of luxury and split their time between two residences, according to police chief Magali Celeghin Vaz.
Ms Frigo usually lived with her children in the upmarket neighbourhood of Vila Nova Conceicao in Sao Paulo, while Vitor normally stayed at a residence in the neighbourhood of Alphaville in the nearby city of Barueri.
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Ms Frigo's Sao Paulo property is reportedly worth A$5.38 million and she covered Vitor's rent of A$8,605 for him.
Vitor received a number of pricey gifts during his relationship with Ms Frigo, such as Rolex watches, trips to Europe, a bicycle worth A$32,280 and even a Porsche worth A$537,860.
However, their relationship eventually hit a stumbling block, and they started to argue a lot and were even on the verge of separating.
As a consequence, Ms Frigo stopped supporting Vitor financially.
Unfaithful boyfriend 'shot in the back'
According to the investigation, Vitor, who was on the verge of bankruptcy, made up with Ms Frigo, but she later found out he had not been faithful, which is believed to be the motive for the crime.
Ms Frigo then allegedly got in touch with Carlos, who was the family "handyman", to offer him money to kill Vitor.
On the day of the crime, Carlos is believed to have invited Vitor to view a plot of land that was for sale. However, en route, he allegedly grabbed a gun from the back seat and shot him in the back, with the bullet penetrating his heart.
He then drove to the banks of the Guarapiranga Reservoir in Sao Paulo, where he allegedly dumped Vitor's dead body, doused it in petrol and set it alight. Cops found the charred remains the following day.
Following the murder, Ms Frigo and Carlos sent several messages from Vitor's mobile phone, which police said was done to throw them off the scent.
Ms Frigo allegedly sent a happy birthday message to herself two days after the crime. On the date, she threw a big party attended by her friends.
Offices said they saw through the supposed ruse, however, as Vitor usually sent audio messages, and after June 17, only written messages had been sent from his phone.
Carlos, who had no prior criminal record, allegedly confessed his role to the police and told them the amount of money he had been promised but not yet received.
Police said he said he carried out the crime just for the money and denied any romantic involvement with his co-suspect.
Ms Frigo has chosen to remain silent so far. The case continues.
Newsflash/Australscope
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