On the afternoon of this Wednesday (8), a 60-year-old woman died due to a sudden illness in a bank branch located on the Bangu promenade, in the West Zone of Rio. The incident occurred in the same financial institution where, on the 16th of April, the body of elderly Paulo Roberto was taken by his niece, Érika Vieira, in an attempt to obtain a loan of R$17,000.
According to the Fire Department, soldiers from the Campo Grande station were called around 1 pm to remove Maria de Santana’s body after she suffered a sudden illness. The victim was at the Itaú branch located on the Bangu promenade, at Avenida Cônego Vasconcelos, number 65A.
‘Uncle Paulo’ case
Érika Souza Vieira Nunes took ‘Uncle Paulo’ to an agency located on Avenida Cônego de Vasconcelos in order to withdraw approximately R$17,000 from a loan made in his name. At that moment, she entered the agency with the elderly man in a wheelchair and, when going to the counter, asked him to sign a document authorizing the collection of the money.
However, photographs reveal that Paulo did not show any reaction, at which point bank employees became suspicious and called the Mobile Emergency Service (Samu), which confirmed the death. Soon after, the police were called and Érika was arrested in the act.
Regarding the visit to the bank, Érica explained that it was her own uncle who asked her to go there. “He asked me to go, I didn’t think he was very weak. Everything was fine inside the car, nothing happened. I was holding his head because before I asked him if he was better supporting him and he said yes,” she said.
On April 30, Érika was accused by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) for attempted embezzlement and vilification of a corpse. According to prosecutors, although the loan was signed by the elderly man while he was still alive, the withdrawal of almost R$18,000 was no longer possible, as the victim had died when Érika was caught red-handed at the bank. According to the MPRJ, the woman, through fraud, tried to obtain amounts that would no longer be applied in favor of her uncle, which would result in losses for the bank that provided the loan.
Last Thursday (2), the woman was declared a defendant in court for the crimes, however, she was allowed to be released to serve her sentence under house arrest. The information is from Jornal ODia.