Warning: This article contains content some readers may find distressing
A mother who was recently arrested for allegedly wheeling her deceased uncle into a bank has spoken out for the first time.
Last month, Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes headed into a Rio de Janeiro bank with her 68-year-old uncle.
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It was reported that the 42-year-old raised suspicion with the tellers as she attempted to get him to sign off on a 17,000 reais (£2,600) loan and put a pen between his fingers.
Staff quickly alerted the police and paramedics soon arrived to confirm Érika’s relative, named later as Paulo Braga, was dead.
The mum-of-six was arrested at the scene on 16 April and was taken into custody.
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Earlier this month, it was revealed the Brazilian was being held at pretrial detention and is facing charges of vilifying a corpse and attempting theft through fraud.
Police have also announced they have launched a separate manslaughter probe.
After leaving prison, Nunes has spoken out about the harrowing incident.
Appearing on Sunday night Brazilian TV programme Fantastico, she claimed that she wasn’t a 'monster'.
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“The days away from my family have been horrible, very difficult,” she said while sobbing.
“I didn’t realise my uncle was dead. It’s absurd what people are saying. I’m not that person people are talking about, I’m not that monster.”
Nunes claims her memories of the event are hazy due to various medications she was taking.
“I don’t know if it was the effect of the pills I had taken that day and I took from time to time,” she claimed, according to The Mirror.
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“As I’m undergoing treatment I was taking a sleeping pill called Zolpidem and took more than I should have.”
As reported by the publication, she claimed that it was her uncle’s idea to go to the bank despite being released from hospital following treatment for pneumonia.
“I didn’t need the money but he wanted it,” she claimed.
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“We always lived without my uncle having any income. My family always helped him. He only did odd jobs here and there but didn’t have any fixed income.”
Following the event, Nunes’ lawyer, Ana Carla de Souza Correa, alleged that her client’s uncle was alive when he arrived at the bank.
“The facts did not occur as has been narrated. Paulo was alive when he arrived at the bank,” the lawyer told.
She also alleged that there were witnesses who could testify to this before claiming she believed in her client’s ‘innocence’.
However, lead officer Fábio Luiz Souza told the press at the time of Nunes' arrest: "She knew this fact (of death), as he is (in the video) with his head down and without any movement, however, right before entering, she holds him by the neck so that he has his head up, simulating a person alive.
“There is no doubt that Érika knew about Paulo's death, but, as it was her last chance to withdraw the money from the loan, she entered the bank with the corpse, simulated for several minutes that he was alive, even pretending to give water, took the pen and held his hand close to the hand of Paulo's corpse.”
He added that he had ‘never come across’ a story like this in his 22-year career.
It was reported that Braga had been dead for at least two hours.
Post-mortem results confirming his cause of death are yet to be made public.
Topics: Crime, True Crime, World News
Ella Scott