Gal Costa’s son calls for exhumation of his mother’s body and investigation into the causes of death

Gabriel Costa, son of Gal Costa, asked the Court of São Paulo (Brazil) on Wednesday for authorization for his mother’s body to be exhumed and subject to a new autopsy. The singer’s only heir also wants his mother’s remains to be deposited in Rio de Janeiro (they are currently in São Paulo).

According to the death certificate, cited by the Brazilian press, Gal Costa, who died in November 2022 at the age of 77, died following an acute myocardial infarction, also describing that another cause of death was a malignant neoplasm in the head and neck.

Gabriel questions the information on the death certificate and therefore now requires a new post-exhumation judicial examination to determine the cause of the singer’s death, arguing that the day before she died, Gal Costa appeared to be in good health.

“The situation is so mysterious that the applicant, the only son and heir, wonders how his mother died, who seemed to be well, going about her day to day life in her home, and was suddenly struck, suddenly , with death, without witnesses who described how and why. No explanations”, pointed out the defense.

For the singer’s son’s lawyer, Gal Costa died a “natural death from an unknown cause” and not from an acute myocardial infarction, remembering that at the time of death there was no doctor to certify the true reason for the death.

“The issue distresses both Gal’s son and the singer’s close friends, who, since her death, have called for an investigation into the causes of death,” added the lawyer.

The defense also states that Wilma Petrillo, Gal Costa’s widow and Gabriel’s godmother, received the Emergency Medical Care Service at the place where the singer died and prohibited at the time “any autopsy that would provide further information”, immediately ordering her to be buried in a private deposit with restricted access.

Gabriel also intends for his mother’s remains to be deposited in Rio de Janeiro (they are currently in São Paulo).

“Gal, intuitive as he was, he must have predicted this. It is not fair that she is buried in a tomb that is not hers and that it is difficult for fans and friends to arrive for tributes and final farewells. Why is this all happening? Who wants to erase and hide this person loved by so many? What’s behind all this?”, wrote Paulo in a post on Instagram.

After Gal Costa’s death, Wilma Petrillo asked the court for her 24-year relationship with the singer to be recognized as a stable union. If that were the case, she would be entitled to 50% of the assets left by the artist, sharing it with the only direct heir.