The Guaratuba child murders, also popularly known as the witches of Guaratuba or the Evandro case,[1][2] is a series of child disappearances that happened in the city of Guaratuba, Brazil, in 1992, some of which were later confirmed as being cases of kidnapping followed by murder.[3] It is one of the longest legal cases in Brazil, and in 2016 its official archive had 60 volumes with over twenty thousand pages.[4]

The case is now known for having involved multiple complex factors, such as a rivalry dispute between the military and civil police, alleged confessions under torture and kidnapping, as well as presence of political motivations to interfere in the legal case.[5]

History

On April 6, 1992, while walking home from school, Evandro Ramos Caetano, a 6-year-old boy disappeared mysteriously. 5 days later, His body was found in a thicket in Guaratuba. Evandro’s throat was slashed. He was bruised, beaten and his eyes, ears, genitals and hands had been cut off. His intestines, liver and heart were missing.[6][7] The question of whether that body was Evandro's or not was questioned for many years, until many biological tests were conducted (DNA and dental arch tests).

The public prosecutor's office of Paraná indicted Celina Abagge, the mayor of Guaratuba’s wife, and her daughter, Beatriz Cordeiro Abbagge as the ones who requested the kidnapping and murder of Evandro, with the intent to use the corpse in a human sacrifice ritual. The pai-de-santo Oswaldo Marcineiro, the painter Vicente de Paula Ferreira, and the artisan Davi dos Santos Soares were indicted for performing the ritual. Francisco Sérgio Cristofolini and Airton Bardelli dos Santos were also indicted for participating in the crime.[8][7]

Some of the indicted confessed to also be involved in the kidnapping of Leandro Bossi (8 years old),[3][9] which led to speculations that they might have been involved in the disappearance of six to eight other kids in Guaratuba in the same year, but at that time police claimed to have no evidence of such involvement.[3][10]

On March 23, 1998, Beatriz and Celina were tried in court for the first time in the longest jury in Brazilian justice history. It lasted for 34 days and the defendants were deemed innocent. In 1999, the jury was invalidated and the trial restarted in May 2011, in which Beatriz was deemed guilty and received a sentence of 21 years in prison.[11][12] In 2016, her sentence was juridically forgiven due to her being mother of a minor.[13]

Osvaldo Marcineiro, Vicente de Paula Ferreira and Davi dos Santos Soares were convicted in 2004,[8] whereas Francisco Sérgio Cristofolini e Airton Bardelli dos Santos were acquitted in 2005.[7][14]

Media Coverage (2010-2020)

Projeto Humanos ("project humans", in english) is an audio documentary about the case, created by professor and journalist Ivan Mizanzuk. It exposes information that is publicly available in the files annexed to the court case process,[lower-alpha 1] which include transcriptions and audio recordings of all court proceedings, as well as transcriptions of investigations and artifacts found therein.[15]

Due to the large amount of attention received by Projeto Humanos, in 2019 Rede Globo has announced that it will make a television miniseries based on the audio documentary.[4]

On May 13, 2021 the docu-series The Evandro Case: A Devilish Plot was released by Globoplay.[16] Two months after the release of the series, an extra episode was released with exclusive testimonials from important people involved in the investigation showing the impact that the production had on the lives of those involved in the case.[17]

See also

References and Notes

  1. ↑ In Brazil, access to such data can be requested to a judge in a somewhat lengthy process. See the brazilian law of access to public information.
  1. ↑ Aaron Rasmussen. "Who Is Evandro Ramos Caetano And Why Is Brazil Obsessed With His Death?". Investigation Discovery. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. ↑ Maria Eduarda Lass (March 3, 2020). "Caso Evandro Bruxas de Guaratuba: Áudios indicam confissão sob tortura" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Gazeta do Povo. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Ken Silverstein (July 16, 1992). "Police Hunting Alleged Heads of Killer Cult". Associated Press. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Pedro Brodbeck (June 15, 2019). "Podcast que conta a história do 'Caso Evandro' bate 4 milhões de downloads e vai virar série" (in Portuguese). G1. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ Antonio Carlos Prado (April 20, 2011). "As bruxas de Guaratuba" (in Portuguese). IstoÉ. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ Joyce Carvalho (May 28, 2011). "PR: em 2º júri, mulher pega 21 anos por morte de menino em ritual". Terra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 Editorial (May 28, 2011). "Depois de 19 anos, um crime sem solução" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Gazeta do Povo. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Diógenes Caetano S. Filho (2014). A Verdadeira História do Caso Evandro (in Brazilian Portuguese). Editora Naós. ISBN 9788577950539.
  9. ↑ Editorial (April 4, 1998). "Defesa no caso Evandro quer convocar legista da Unicamp" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha de São Paulo. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  10. ↑ Patrícia Cavallari (August 31, 2005). "Advogados se precipitam e tumultuam caso Evandro" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Tribuna do Paraná. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  11. ↑ Editorial (May 26, 2011). "Julgamento de Beatriz Abagge está previsto para começar nesta sexta-feira" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Gazeta do Povo. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  12. ↑ Paraná's Public Prosecutor's Office (May 30, 2011). "CASO EVANDRO - Beatriz Abagge é condenada a 21 anos e 4 meses de prisão por homicídio triplamente qualificado" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  13. ↑ Diego Antonelli (June 17, 2016). "Justiça perdoa pena de Beatriz Abagge" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Tribuna do Paraná. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  14. ↑ Joyce Carvalho (May 28, 2011). "Segundo julgamento do caso Evandro é retomado no PR" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Terra. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  15. ↑ Marcella Franco (December 3, 2019). "Podcast 'Caso Evandro' transforma reviravoltas de crime em espetáculo" (in Portuguese). Folha de São Paulo. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  16. ↑ "O Caso Evandro estreia no Globoplay adaptando o podcast de Ivan Mizanzuk". 13 May 2021.
  17. ↑ "Caso Evandro: Série ganha episódio extra no Globoplay". 9 July 2021.
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