The gospel singer and former deputy Flordelis dos Santos de Souza was questioned today (12) in the trial in which she is accused of being the mastermind behind the death of her husband, Pastor Anderson do Carmo. Over the course of approximately 40 minutes, she reaffirmed her innocence. Flordelis said that she loved Anderson do Carmo, while maintaining that the pastor abused her and her children. According to the report, there were both physical and sexual assaults.
“He only got pleasure if he hurt me. I believed it was because of the family problems I had gone through, so I submitted to that, I was submissive. That’s how my mom taught me and what I thought was right,” she said at one point.
The interrogations of Flordelis and four other defendants began this Saturday (12), after the witnesses’ testimonies were concluded. Between Monday (7) and Friday (11), 24 people were heard.
Anderson was shot dead on the night of June 16, 2019, shortly after arriving at the family’s home in the Pendotiba neighborhood of Niterói (RJ). At first, Flordelis said it was an attempted robbery. She later abandoned that version and went on to say that the crime would have occurred in reaction to the pastor’s abusive behavior. She, however, denies knowing the authorship.
On the other hand, the police investigation concluded in August 2020 indicated that a homicide had taken place at the behest of the then parliamentarian. The investigations also involved part of her family, made up of more than 50 children, of which three are biological and the others are adopted or classified as affective. The motive for the crime would have been the dispute for power and financial control in the family.
Flordelis was elected federal deputy in 2019 for the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Due to parliamentary immunity, she could not be arrested in the course of investigations, which only happened two days after her impeachment was approved in the Chamber of Deputies, in August 2021.
Earlier, however, other suspects had already been arrested. Shortly after the pastor’s funeral, the biological son of former deputy Flávio dos Santos, accused of being the author of the shooting, and the adopted son Lucas dos Santos, who would be responsible for buying the weapon, were arrested. In 2020, when the police investigation was concluded, the other two biological children – Adriano dos Santos and Simone dos Santos -, three adopted children – Marzy Teixeira, André Luiz de Oliveira and Carlos Ubiraci Silva – and granddaughter Rayane dos Santos were also arrested. . They were accused of involvement in the crime or of trying to disrupt the investigation.
In the ongoing trial, Flordelis, André Luiz de Oliveira, Marzy Teixeira, Simone dos Santos and Rayane dos Santos will be declared guilty or not guilty by the Jury Court of Niterói, according to a decision taken in September last year by the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro. (TJRJ). Only intentional crimes against life can be submitted to the Jury Court, which is composed of seven individuals selected by lot from among previously enlisted and sworn citizens. During the entire trial, they are isolated in a hotel and incommunicado, without access to a telephone.
The proceedings are presided over by Judge Nearis Arce. Others accused of involvement in the crime have already been tried before. In November last year, Flávio dos Santos and Lucas dos Santos were convicted of triple aggravated murder and other crimes. In April of that year, the Jury Court convicted Adriano dos Santos and two other people unrelated to the family for using a false document: former military police officer Marcos Costa and his wife Andrea Maia.
In the same trial, Carlos Ubiraci Silva was acquitted of the murder charge, but convicted of criminal association. Due to the time they have been in prison, Adriano and Carlos are currently on parole.
Interrogations
Flordelis was the second to be interrogated. Before her, questions were directed to André Luiz de Oliveira. He said that Anderson himself told him he was aware of a plan to kill him. “I didn’t say how I found out and who wanted to do it. Later I learned at the house where we lived that Lucas and Marzy were planning his death,” he said.
The third interviewee was Rayane dos Santos. Flordelis’ granddaughter said she was abused by Anderson. “Today I understand that touching me, hitting my butt was abuse. In Brasília, I woke up with the pastor on top of me, running his hand over my body. When I turned around, he kissed my forehead and went to work,” she detailed.
Marzy Teixeira and Simone dos Santos are the last two to be questioned. In the course of the process, Simone dos Santos Rodrigues even admitted that she gave Marzy money to kill Anderson. She said that she wanted to get rid of the sexual abuse committed by the pastor, but did not believe that her sister would have the courage to comply with her request. Marzy, in turn, has already claimed that she had the idea of taking Anderson’s life alone and made an offer to Lucas, who would have refused, preventing the plan from moving forward. She pleads not guilty.
When the individual interrogations of the five defendants are concluded, the prosecution and defense will be entitled to final speeches. The prosecution is carried out by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), with lawyers representing the pastor’s family as assistants. They reiterate the conclusions of the police investigation, in which the financial motivation of the homicide and the occurrence of other attempts to murder the pastor, with the addition of poison in the victim’s food and drinks, are pointed out.
