New footage has emerged of the moment a woman wheeled the body of a dead man into a bank in the hopes of securing a loan.
As previously reported, a woman by the name of Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes is currently under investigation after she wheeled a corpse into a bank in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, and was recorded by staff attempting to use him as a co-signer for a loan.
Employees at the bank quickly became concerned when they noticed that the man in the wheelchair was not talking or moving independently - as 42-year-old Nunes used her own hands to hold his head upright and maneuver his hands.
Although the situation unfolded like a scene out of A Weekend At Bernie's, the staff at the bank quickly started recording the disturbing situation unfolding in front of them.
The footage, initially aired by TV Globo, Brazil’s largest broadcaster, showed Nunes addressing the dead man as her "uncle", urging him to sign financial documents necessary for her to secure a $3,400 loan. The video has since been widely shared on social media. Due to the distressing nature of the footage, VT will not be resharing it here.
In the video, she can be heard saying, per the New York Post: "Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign [the loan contract], I can’t sign for you" and "Sign so you don’t give me any more headaches, I can’t take it anymore."
In response, the staff tells her: "I don’t think this is legal. He doesn’t look well. He’s very pale."
However, Nunes brushes off his remarks, claiming that the man "doesn’t say anything" and suggesting he might need to go to the hospital again, per The Sun.
Now, the Daily Mail has reported new details on the distressing case.
After staff alerted the police, Nunes was swiftly arrested, with new footage showing her wheeling the body around the mall prior to entering the bank. Nunes has also been photographed in handcuffs.
A subsequent investigation revealed that the dead man was 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga.
Police Chief Fábio Luiz stated: "She tried to pretend to get him to sign the loan. He already entered the bank dead," emphasizing the need for further investigation to identify other family members and uncover more details about the loan.
Authorities are also hunting for the man who drove them to the mall prior to entering the bank. It has been reported that officers were dispatched to locate the driver, who is believed to have been hired using a rideshare app.
Rio de Janeiro Civil Police Chief Fábio Souza informed Brazilian news outlet G1 on Wednesday that although he couldn't determine the exact moment of Braga's death, the presence of cadaver spots on the back of his head suggests that he had likely been deceased for approximately two hours.
If Roberto had passed away while seated in the wheelchair, authorities clarified that the cadaver patches would have been evident on his legs.
"It is not possible to determine the exact moment of death," Souza explained. "It was discovered by Samu (Mobile Emergency Attendance Service) that there was livor mortis. This only occurs from the time of death but becomes noticeable approximately two hours after death."
Law enforcement officials stated that they will be looking into the circumstances surrounding Braga's death and ascertain Nunes' relationship to him, along with any involvement of other relatives in the alleged attempt to commit bank fraud.
"She calls herself his niece. In fact, she has a degree of kinship, according to our research," Souza said. "And she calls herself his caretaker. We want to identify other family members."
Nunes could potentially face charges including theft through fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of a corpse.
She was interviewed by authorities on Wednesday.
“The investigation is continuing to identify other family members and to find out if he was alive when the loan was arranged and when it dates from," Luiz said.
"In my 22-year career, I have never seen a story like this," Souza added.
