Italian entrepreneur killed in Brazil: the alleged killer has turned himself in
The alleged killer is a retired Brazilian soldier. He turned himself in after the Brazilian police found the murder weapon. The murder would have resulted from a futile discussion, his wife also arrested for inciting him
The retired Brazilian police officer accused of the murder of Casale (Alessandria) businessman Fabio Campagnola in Marechal Deodoro in the Brazilian state of Alagoas has turned himself in. This was announced by Claudio Falleti, lawyer from Alessandria, the family’s attorney in Italy, who is in charge of coordination and judicial assistance with his colleague in Brazil and with Farnesina.
The alleged killer is a retired military man, Jose Pereira da Costa, age 59. The circle around him tightened the moment the Marechal Deodoro Police Department’s 17/o squad, led by Liana Franca, managed to find and seize the weapon used in the murder of the Casalese businessman. The .40-caliber pistol was located in an inn near the murder scene and was found to be registered in the name of the now off-duty police officer who was still on the run at the time.
Judge Fabíola Melo Feijão, holder of the First Civil and Criminal Court of Marechal Deodoro, decreed the suspect’s preventive detention, following a request from the Civil Police. Until then he was considered a fugitive from justice for the crime of murder. “We are happy and satisfied, now we are waiting for justice to take its course,” Falleti said. “We will closely follow the development of the trial together with our colleague on the ground.
Police also arrested da Costa’s wife, Karla Kassiana Vanderlei Warumby Cavalcanti, on charges of inciting the soldier to commit the crime. Having validated the woman’s arrest, the judge decided on remand in custody.
The murder occurred Wednesday, Jan. 4, in Praia do Frances, according to Brazilian media, after an argument over futile reasons (the placement of a cart for street food sales) in front of the ice cream shop owned by the Italian. Campagnola had owned Il Meneghino, in Praia do Francês, since 2013, and had also been a partner for three years in Pippo’s snack and meals bar, in Ponta Verde. He leaves behind a seven-year-old boy he had with his wife from Alagoas and another adult son who would not live in Brazil.
