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BBC MUNDO RADIO
Teenager, 17, is considered a key witness in the Eliza Samudio case.
He had lied in his original statement for fear of retaliation, say investigators.
The minor who police arrested at goalkeeper Bruno de Souza’s home in Rio was being pursued by drug traffickers, his parents told Civil Police in Minas Gerais. Police suspect the teenager, 17, of involvement in Eliza’s disappearance. His parents live in Belo Horizonte.
In their statement, which has been included as part of the investigation into Eliza Samudio’s disappearance, the teenager’s parents said that their son had lived at Bruno’s house in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, western Rio, for a few months. However, he had returned to Minas Gerais after getting in trouble with the local drug traffickers.
Due to the teenager’s drug addiction, his parents asked that he be transferred from Rio to Minas Gerais this week. The teenager’s mother said she discovered his addiction when the boy admitted to owing drug traffickers R$ 600 (US$ 336.2). The boy’s father said his son is a regular user of cocaine.
Last Thursday (15), attorney Eliezer Jonatas de Almeida Lima said the minor is experiencing withdrawal.
The teenager’s mother told police that at one point she feared for her son’s life, after he was taken to the Treatment Center for Adolescents at Ilha do Governador, in Rio. Police arrested the teenager on Tuesday (6) and soon after, he accompanied police to Minas Gerais to help find Eliza’s body. He returned to Rio on Wednesday (7) and was taken to Minas Gerais again last Tuesday (13).
In her statement to police, the teenager’s mother said she spent two days at Bruno’s ranch in Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais. At the time, Eliza’s baby was being cared for by Dayanne Souza, the goalkeeper’s wife. The woman also said she did not notice Eliza or her luggage, which police believe was later burned. According to her statement, everyone at the house referred to the baby by the name of Ryan.
The teenager’s father said Bruno visited him on June 25, when Dayanne was arrested in Minas Gerais. At the time, the athlete had tried to reassure the teenager’s parents that he was not involved in Eliza’s disappearance.
