The death of Army corporal Maria de Lourdes Freire Matos, 25 years old, on Friday (5) afternoon, is being investigated as femicide, the Civil Police of the Federal District (PCDF) reported this Saturday (6). 
According to the 2nd Police Station (DP), of Asa Norte, soldier Kelvin Barros da Silva, 21 years old, confessed to the crime and is being held in the Army Police Battalion, in Brasília..
In a video released by PCDF, delegate Paulo Noritika, head of the 2nd DP, explained that the soldier said that the murder occurred after an argument with the victim. In the words of the confessed perpetrator of the crime, Maria de Lourdes would have demanded that the soldier end the relationship with his girlfriend and take over. The victim’s family, however, denied to the local press that the two had a relationship.
According to the delegate, the soldier had no criminal record..
“The perpetrator is in custody at the Army Guard Service and will face charges of femicide, weapon theft, arson and procedural fraud, and could be sentenced to 54 years in prison,” Noritika added.
The soldier’s body was found on Friday (6), shortly after 4pm, charred and with a cut on the neck by the Federal District Military Fire Brigade (CBMDF), which put out a fire in the 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment (RGC), in the Urban Military Sector. In a statement, firefighters confirmed that they found a large amount of fuel after extinguishing the flames.
“There was a large amount of combustible material at the site. The neighboring buildings were cooled, preventing the fire from spreading. The fire was quickly controlled and, during the cooling phase of the burned materials, rescuers found a charred female body, still unidentified”, reported the CBMDF.
Grief
Maria de Lourdes Freire Matos was a saxophonist in the regiment’s band. In a post on social media, the 1st RCG expressed regret over the murder.
“The 1st Guards Cavalry Regiment expresses its deep regret at the death of Corporal Maria de Lourdes Freire Matos, whose career at the institution was marked by dedication, professionalism and an exemplary commitment to the service provided in the band. In this moment of pain, we express our most sincere condolences to her family, friends and brothers in uniform”, highlighted the statement.
Exclusion from the Army
The Army reported that the soldier was arrested in the act immediately after his confession. According to the Army Social Communication Center, a Military Police Inquiry (IPM) was opened. The confessed criminal must be excluded from the Military Force.
The corporation said it was providing assistance to the family. “The Brazilian Army provides full support to the family and deeply regrets the loss of Corporal Maria de Lourdes de Freire Matos and reiterates its position of not supporting criminal acts and rigorously punishing those responsible”, he highlighted.
Wave of femicides
The case adds to a wave of recent femicides that shook the country. On the 28th, two employees from a Federal Center for Technological Education (Cefet) in Rio de Janeiro were shot dead by an employee of the same educational institution, who then killed himself.
In the capital of São Paulo, a 31-year-old woman had her legs severely mutilated after being run over and draggedfor around a kilometer last Saturday (29), while she was still trapped under the vehicle. Also in São Paulo, a man shot his ex-partner at the pastry shop where she worked last Monday (1st) with two guns..
In Recife, a 39-year-old man was also arrested on Saturday, suspected of causing a fire that killed his pregnant wife and the couple’s four children.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commented on the wave of femicides this week. In a speech in Pernambuco last Tuesday (2), he asked for men’s engagement to change the culture of gender violence that predominates in society.
