A missing actor from Brazil has tragically been found dead, with his body buried in a wooden trunk at his friend's home.
Jefferson Machado, 44, who was best known for starring in the Brazilian show Reis, was last seen on January 27 and last spoke to his mother Maria das Dores on the phone two days later, on January 29.
His mother spoke to him about a job he had been interviewing for in Sao Paulo, and the conversation was the last time she heard her son's voice.
Dores began to get worried when she started receiving text messages instead of calls from her son, after being told he'd dropped his phone in the toilet and was unable to make phonecalls, and noticed the messages were riddled with spelling mistakes uncharacteristic of his usual way of writing.
Machado's phone location had been deactivated around this time, and it was reported to police that his video cloud password had also been changed.
He was officially declared missing on February 9 after his eight pet dogs were found alone at his home in Rio de Janeiro.
Tragically, his body was finally found on Monday, May 22, when police discovered it inside a wooden trunk that had been encased in cement and buried in the back garden of a home in Campo Grande.
According to reports, it took nine people to lift the trunk out from where it had been buried under the floor of the property's outhouse.
Machado's body was identified by checking his fingerprints, and local media outlet R7 News claims that the home where he was found had been rented out by a friend of the actor, who has not yet been named.
The Machado family's attorney, Jairo Magalhai Pereira, shared the news of the actor's death in a statement on Facebook.
Pereira wrote: "It is with regret that I share the sad news of the passing of actor Jeff Machado, whose body was found with strangulation signs.
"This discovery confronts us with the cruelty present in our society, motivating us to seek truth and justice in the face of such impactful cases.
"Preliminary information indicates that the actor's body was found in a trunk, buried in a hole of considerable depth. This situation deeply saddens us and indignant in the face of the suffering faced by Jeff.
"My commitment as a lawyer is to seek tirelessly for truth and justice. It is my responsibility to ensure that everyone involved in this brutal crime is held accountable and punished and that Jeff’s family finds the support they need to get through this very painful time."
Pereira also told R7 News that the trunk the actor was found in was "very similar to the ones in his own house", and reports, via The Independent, said he was found with his arms tied up behind his head.
The property where the grim discovery was made is reportedly owned by a woman who had rented it out to a friend of the actor, and while the friend has been identified as a suspect, no arrests have yet been made.
Our thoughts remain with Machado's family and friends at this heartbreaking time.