Family says niece did not notice elderly man’s death because he was under the influence of medication

Summary
Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes was arrested after trying to get a loan from her now dead uncle. Family members report that she used medications, mentioning zolpidem among them, which has hallucinations, agitation, nightmares and depression among its side effects.

Family members of Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes believe she was under the influence of medication when her uncle, Paulo Roberto Braga, he died. That day, she took him to a bank branch to try to get a loan. One of the remedies cited by relatives is zolpidemwhich became known on the internet due to reports from users of the medicine.

“I took a basic look at Shopee and discovered that yesterday I made a dope purchase of zolpidem,” wrote a user this week on X (formerly Twitter). “I’ll never take zolpidem again in my life, it’s one night more chaotic than the next,” said another person, on the same social network.

The remedy is indicated for treating insomnia in adults. Among the common side effects, the leaflet indicates hallucinations, agitation, nightmares and depression. The person who mentioned Érika’s use of zolpidem was her brother, Elizeu Nunes dos Santos, in an interview with the newspaper The globe.

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Érika’s son, Lucas Nunes dos Santos, aged 27, reinforced the hypothesis.

“She was under the influence of medication. I’m sure she didn’t realize that Uncle Paulo had already died. In normal judgment, my mother wouldn’t talk and ask a dead person to sign a paper,” he told the newspaper.

According to Lucas, who is a military firefighter, his mother had been treating depression since 2019, and, since then, the use of different medications has become a constant in his life. Last Sunday, 21st, in an interview with Fantasticfrom TV Globo, the family members showed two psychiatric reports, already sent to the courts, which request Érika’s hospitalization.

In admission requests, there are mentions of “auditory hallucinations” and “drug dependence”.

Woman takes dead body to withdraw R$17,000 loan from bank in Rio:

Investigations

Érika was arrested in the act on the 16th, after finding that the elderly Paulo Roberto Braga, aged 68, was dead at the moment his niece tried to get him to sign permission to withdraw a loan of R$ 17 thousand, in an agency in Rio de Janeiro. Her arrest was later converted to preventive.

In the decision, judge Rachel Assad da Cunha stated that the woman did not show any concern about the condition of the elderly person who claimed to be a caregiver.

The accused’s defense appealed the decision and asked for house arrest so that she could take care of her 14-year-old daughter. The girl is diagnosed with a chronic illness. To justify the request, the defense claimed that Erika did not pose any risks and cooperated with the investigations.