Accused of killing police officer’s wife denies crime and says loan shark committed murder: ‘It got out of control’

Carlos Fernandes Soares, ‘nephew’ of Márcia Catarina Lugo, wife of a retired civil police officer, who was murdered with a gunshot to the forehead, on October 7, 2021, and had her body found on October 8, in BR- 262, denied the crime before the jury on Monday morning (18).

To the jurors and the judge, Carlos said that the person who committed the murder was the loan shark ‘China’ to whom he owed money and Márcia was helping him pay off the debt, having already lent him the amount of R$90. thousand.

He said that on the day of the murder, things ‘got out of control’ and that he was in the company of the victim to follow her husband, whom, according to him, he suspected of betrayal. According to Carlos, ‘China’ appeared where the two were, completely upset and shouting that he wanted money and, if he didn’t receive it, he would tell Márcia’s husband that Carlos was receiving money from her.

On the day of the murder, Carlos said that ‘China’ opened the door of the car they were in and put the gun to his head, and that at that moment Márcia started screaming and he tried to take the gun away from the loan shark who ended up shooting her in the head. victim.

“He was on the phone all the time and made it seem like it was out of his control or he didn’t have authorization to do that to us, so much so that we made two stops on dirt roads.”, said Carlos after Márcia was shot dead. .

At the time, Carlos ran away, but later ended up arrested accused of the murder. According to the police chief’s testimony, Carlos contradicted himself several times and “lied several times”. Also according to Reis Belo, “Both before and after death, several withdrawals were made from transactions, purchases, even loans, an amount of R$120 thousand”.

Even at the beginning of the investigation, Márcia’s husband was ruled out as a suspect. Faced with Carlos’s various contradictions, one of them caught the delegate’s attention. “For loan sharks to go out collecting money on a Friday night is a bit strange, right?!”, said the police chief.

“I questioned him three times and I was careful to record it on video so that it was clearly recorded that at no time did he come under any pressure from the police, the police worked cleanly, trying to present the facts, we encouraged him to make an effort and he said what he wanted when he wanted and had three opportunities to present his version and lied in all of them”, said Reis Belo about Carlos’ interrogation.

Remember the case

The victim was found dead, on a sandbank, below a stream bridge, on BR-262, on the afternoon of October 8, 2021, hours after disappearing. She had a gunshot wound to her forehead.

Márcia was married to a retired civil police officer. Investigations revealed that Carlos killed his friend after luring her into an alleged act of cheating on her husband.

Along the way, the defendant allegedly shot the victim in the forehead. They were in an SW4 car he rented. After killing the victim, Carlos took the vehicle to a car wash, a locksmith shop and an upholstery shop to repair the damage caused by the shooting.

The Police found that Carlos made several bank transfers, in addition to purchases paid with Márcia’s card. Days later, he was arrested in a Hotel in Dourados.